American Century Championship Introduces its First-Ever NFT Charity Auction -- American Century Tees Up Fan Participation and Prizes with ACC Fantasy Golf and NFTs Benefitting Medical Research

    SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, NV, June 28, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- A new and innovative NFT charity auction will take place during this year's prestigious American Century Championship sponsored by American Century Investments. Since 1999, American Century has been the title sponsor of the American Century Championship, the premier celebrity golf tournament that has raised more than $6 million for dozens of worthy causes and nonprofits.

The American Century Championship annual celebrity golf tournament returns to South Lake Tahoe, Nevada, July 6-10, with some of the world's biggest celebrities, actors and athletes. Sports legends and celebrity players scheduled to participate at the 2022 American Century Championship include Anthony Anderson, Charles Barkley, Stephen Curry, Dylan Dreyer, Colin Jost, Patrick Mahomes, Jake Owen, Aaron Rodgers, Tony Romo, Annika Sorenstam, Miles Teller, and Justin Timberlake. View the complete list of celebrity participants in the 2022 American Century Championship.

"We look forward to the American Century Championship, an amazing tournament with exciting celebrities in a beautiful setting each year. We have enjoyed 24 years as the title sponsor, and each year we work to improve the experience, making it more engaging both for fans at the event and those watching on television or online," said Erik Schneberger, chief marketing officer of American Century. "This year, we are excited not just to bring back the fan-favorite ACC Fantasy Golf, but to launch our first-ever NFT charity auction. NFTs are ripe for significant innovation, and we see this as a great opportunity to pioneer an application of NFT technology at the tournament to broaden and deepen fan involvement while furthering our commitment to contributing to life-changing medical research."

American Century Championship's first-ever NFT charity auction to benefit medical research
New this year, American Century has created an NFT charity auction. Celebrity players will be invited during a practice round days to digitally autograph a virtual golf ball using gesture-based technology within a custom kiosk. The NFT for auction will be the digitally autographed virtual golf ball. Utility value built into the NFT will include a trip for two to Edgewood Tahoe as well as a 3D-printed version of the celebrity-signed golf ball enclosed in a Lucite box. One hundred collectible NFTs, also in the form of autographed virtual golf balls, will be available at predetermined prices. The NFT auction and 100 collectible NFTs will be blockchain minted on the Sweet.io marketplace. One hundred percent of the net proceeds from the auction and sales will be donated to the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, a world-class biomedical research nonprofit dedicated to defeating life-threatening diseases.

The auction begins Friday, July 8 at 4 p.m. PDT and runs through Monday, July 11 at 8:59 p.m. PDT. Anyone can participate in the American Century Championship NFT charity auction by making a bid or purchase at www.myACCnft.com. Purchases can be made via credit card; no cryptocurrency wallet is required to bid or purchase.

American Century Championship Fantasy Golf contest returns
In addition, American Century is proud to bring back the fan favorite ACC Fantasy Golf program where fans can pick a team of five players to have a chance to win airfare, hotel and tickets to the 2023 American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe, plus $10,000 to the winner's charity of choice. Fans can choose from over 80 sports legends and celebrities, picking one player from each of five groups based on their level of play to create their team. Participants can make team adjustments daily. Contest participants can keep tabs on their team by checking the ACC Fantasy Golf leaderboard and follow along on social media with #ACCFantasyGolf.

Good fun for a good cause from the firm with a vision for helping people prosper with purpose
The American Century Championship has raised more than $6 million for dozens of worthy causes and nonprofits, earning a reputation as one of the most family-oriented, philanthropic, prestigious, and reputable celebrity golf tournaments in the country. The official charity of the 33rd annual American Century Championship is the Stowers Institute.

"Our employees and clients help support the Stowers Institute's life-changing medical research through their work and investments because over 40% of our profits – more than $1.87 billion since 2000 – go to the Stowers Institute as our controlling owner," said Schneberger. "Just as our firm believes in helping people prosper with purpose, with the American Century Championship we believe in a good time for a good cause. I want to especially thank our fan participants and celebrity golfers for making this tournament so much fun. Together we make the world a better place through our impact on human health."

When and how to view the American Century Championship
The American Century Championship will be televised nationally from the scenic lakefront Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course on Friday at 2 p.m. PDT on the GOLF Channel and on Saturday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. PDT on NBC. To follow and join the tournament action use #ACCgolf on social media, and catch exclusive content on American Century Championship's Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts. For tournament information, visit www.AmericanCenturyChampionship.com.

About American Century Investments – Tournament Title Sponsor
American Century Investments is a leading global asset manager focused on delivering investment results and building long-term client relationships while supporting breakthrough medical research. Founded in 1958, American Century Investments' 1,400 employees serve financial professionals, institutions, corporations, and individual investors from offices in New York; London; Frankfurt; Hong Kong; Sydney; Santa Clara, Calif.; and Kansas City, Mo. Jonathan S. Thomas is president and chief executive officer, and Victor Zhang serves as chief investment officer. Delivering investment results to clients enables American Century Investments to distribute over 40% of its dividends to the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, a 500-person, nonprofit basic biomedical research organization. The Institute owns more than 40% of American Century Investments and has received dividend payments of $1.8 billion since 2000. For more information about American Century Investments, visit www.americancentury.com.

No purchase necessary, void where prohibited. See contest rules at www.ACCFantasyGolf.com.
©2022 American Century Proprietary Holdings Inc. All rights reserved.

1 "Definition of non-fungible token: a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership (as of a specific digital asset and specific rights relating to it)" Merriam-Webster definition.

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