Houston Texans' Laremy Tunsil mints draft-night gas mask video into NFT for charity

Friday, April 29, 2022

Texans' Tunsil turning draft night disaster into NFT for charity

Laremy Tunsil is the anchor of the Houston Texans o-line, but in 2016, he was the face of a draft-night disaster. Now, he's using the image that has haunted him early in his career into a positive.

HOUSTON, Texas -- The day before the 2022 NFL draft begins, Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil tweeted that he's moving past his draft night incident by minting a non-fungible token (NFT) of his "infamous gas mask video."

Just before the start of the draft in 2016, a video of him smoking marijuana out of a gas mask was posted on his Twitter account. Tunsil, who was projected as the draft's top offensive tackle, slid down the draft board and was eventually drafted by the Miami Dolphins with the 13th pick.

Tunsil later told then NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders that his Twitter account was hacked.

SEE MORE: Laremy Tunsil slides to Dolphins at No. 13 after gas mask tweet

"Man, it was a mistake," Tunsil said at that time. "You know, it happened years ago. Like I said before, somebody hacked my Twitter account. That's how it got on there, man. It's just a crazy world -- things happen for a reason."

Tunsil tweeted that a portion of the proceeds from the 1 of 1 NFT will benefit The Last Prisoner Project, which supports those incarcerated for cannabis offenses.

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"I'm looking toward and excited for the future and am grateful for all of those that supported me on my draft night and those that have and will continue to support my journey!" Tunsil tweeted.

Tunsil was traded to the Houston Texans in August 2019 in exchange for a package that included two first-round draft picks. In 2020 he signed a three-year, $66 million extension with the Texans that included $50 million guaranteed.