VerifiedInk Announces Martin Bahar As Director Of Business Development
Longtime College Basketball Coach Bahar to Power VerifiedInk’s College and Athlete NFT Partnerships
NEW YORK (October 4, 2022) – VerifiedInk, the first-ever NIL platform empowering high school and college student-athletes to design, mint and sell their own NFT trading cards, today announced longtime college basketball coach Martin Bahar has joined the team as its first Director of Business Development. In his new role, Bahar will be responsible for establishing partnerships with elite athletes and schools across the country to sign up with VerifiedInk.
Bahar has spent the last 16 years coaching college basketball. He most recently served as an assistant coach for the University of San Diego men’s basketball program. Before that, he held positions as assistant coach and director of scouting at the University of Southern California and as an assistant coach at Fairfield University and Princeton University. Bahar’s been part of teams winning at least 20 games eight times, and his teams have made five NCAA Tournament appearances. Bahar coached 14 NBA players throughout his tenure, including seven current NBA players.
“My time as a basketball coach has been nothing short of spectacular, but I’m thrilled for a new challenge,” Bahar said. “I’ve developed deep-rooted relationships across collegiate athletics as a coach, and I’m looking forward to tapping into my network to bring big-time college athletes and schools onto the platform. VerifiedInk has identified a sweet spot in the NIL space with a model that empowers athletes — and I’m going to ensure more athletes benefit from the platform.”
Bahar holds a bachelor of science degree from Vanderbilt University in Communications and Spanish. He earned a master’s degree in Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University, where he also served as a Film Coordinator and Graduate Assistant for the Hoyas Men’s Basketball team.
“Martin is vastly connected within college athletics,” VerifiedInk Co-Founder & Co-CEO Nate Slutzky said. “He understands what motivates college athletes. He has a level of credibility with both the athletes and schools that is essential in scaling our platform.”
Athletes sign up for the VerifiedInk platform and design their own NFT trading cards for free in a matter of minutes. Eligible athletes sell those cards in the VerifiedInk marketplace and keep 80 percent or more of the profits. As NFTs continue to change hands and are bought and sold several times over, players earn a royalty for each sale – continuing to profit from their NIL.
“Hundreds of athletes have created and sold their NFT cards since launching our platform this summer,” VerifiedInk Co-Founder & Co-CEO Aaron Linsky said. “Martin will take our business development efforts to a whole new level. Martin has the ideal background and experience to connect with the athletes we want to reach.”
Highly touted D1 basketball players Julian Phillips (University of Tennessee), Ernest Udeh (University of Kansas) and Baylor Scheirerman (Creighton University) are a few of the athletes with personalized cards already on the platform available for purchase.
About VerifiedInk:
Launched in 2022, VerifiedInk is the first-ever NIL platform empowering high school and college student-athletes to design, mint and sell their own NFT trading cards in the VerifiedInk marketplace. Athletes receive between 80 percent or more of profits from every sale, disrupting the NIL paradigm featuring big brands leveraging athlete partnerships to drive their own profits. The VerifiedInk marketplace is the go-to destination for sports fans and collectors to purchase player-made collectibles and invest in the careers of their favorite athletes. Entrepreneurs Nate Slutzky and Aaron Linsky founded VerifiedInk. For more information, visit VerifiedInk.us.
