Former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith is using technology to fight fraudulent sports memorabilia. The NFL’s all-time rushing leader recently launched the LEGIT app through his company PROVA Group. With this app, collectors will have a tool to verify the authenticity of their collectibles, such as footballs and trading cards.
The LEGIT app works in conjunction with the PROVA SmarTag, which electronically connects a collectible to you. The SmarTag is a scannable RFID smart chip that can be sewn into footballs and jerseys. The chip can also be attached to trading cards. For items containing this chip, you can use your smartphone, with the dowloaded LEGIT app, to scan the tag. The app will not only be able to tell fans and collectors that their memorabilia is legitimate, but also the history of that memorabilia, such as what game a football was used in and what records were set during that game.
“What we, at PROVA, are trying to do is to bring some…let’s just call it legitimacy to the whole entire process,” said Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. “But also to create a new product that has a high level of authenticity.”
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For the 2016 season, each Dallas Cowboys uniform contained a smart tag sewn into its fabric. Smith has also partnered with trading card giant Panini America to expand the use of PROVA’s technology. This past April, Panini America released an exclusive NFL trading card set featuring the SmarTag in all of Smith’s own memorabilia that retailed at $1,500. Through the partnership, LEGIT app users can link themselves to Panini in order to receive future communications and offers regarding their collectibles.
The LEGIT app can currently be downloaded through the Google Play store.