Forever Is 3 Years: BIG3 NFT Buyers Sue Ice Cube's League Over Vanishing Courtside Seats 🏀

A class action lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of California last July accuses rapper and actor Ice Cube's BIG3 basketball league of selling unregistered securities through Ethereum-based NFTs and failing to deliver the ownership perks it promised. First reported by Front Office Sports and publicized by attorneys on Tuesday, the suit alleges "deceptive, fraudulent, and illegal marketing" by the league as part of its "offering and sale of unregistered securities in the form of non-fungible tokens." Attorney Joseph Sakai, representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement, "At its core, this case is about promises made to investors who are also the league's most loyal fans." He added, "Our clients invested substantial sums based on representations that they would receive meaningful ownership rights, including team management decisions, season tickets, and financial participation in future team sales." Sakai said the league guaranteed the rights would last "forever," but that "they barely lasted three years."

The disputed ownership rights stem from BIG3's 2022 NFT sale, which offered "Fire" tier tokens at $25,000 each and "Gold" tier tokens at $5,000 each. Buyers were promised benefits including VIP tickets, voting power on team matters, and a share of future team sales. At the time, Ice Cube told Decrypt, "This is a great way for the fans to be owners. And so, it's a no-brainer for me," adding, "I'm all about changing the game and shifting the paradigm." Investors in the initiative included Snoop Dogg, Gary Vaynerchuk, and NFT communities such as Moonbirds, according to prior reporting.

The complaint says that "rather than honor its contractual promises to plaintiffs and other similarly situated investors who provided substantial capital to the league, BIG3 has relegated those individuals from team owners to common ticket holders." It adds that the league "denied plaintiffs' rights to participate in the league and profits from the sale of teams, things it promised 'in return for their purchase of BIG3's unregistered securities.'" BIG3 sold four teams to outside investors in 2024, generating approximately $40 million, and the suit contends that a portion of those proceeds was owed to NFT holders, described as some of the league's original private investors. "Two years before BIG3 announced its first sale of team rights to DCB Sports, BIG3 had sold ownership rights to hundreds of private investors, including plaintiffs, via non-fungible tokens," the filing states. The lawsuit was filed as BIG3 prepares to go public.