Ice Cube’s BIG3 Swaps NFTs For League Equity To Ambassador To Denmark

Ice Cube‘s BIG3 three-on-three basketball league exchanged PayPal co-founder Ken Howery’s Fire-tier NFTs for equity under a settlement newly detailed by The Washington Sun.

Howery, who also serves as U.S. Ambassador to Denmark under the Trump administration, joined the rollout alongside Snoop Dogg.

In May 2022, the league announced that the two had teamed up to purchase all 25 Fire-tier tokens tied to the team Big3 team, Bivouac.

The report placed his NFT holdings between $100,001 and $250,000. It did not value the BIG3 HoldCo LLC units he received.

The broader buyer dispute moved into individual arbitration after purchasers accused BIG3 of “deceptive, fraudulent, and illegal marketing” over team-sale benefits. They alleged the league renamed sold teams while calling the originals “on hiatus.”

BIG3 disputed the allegations.

BIG3’s original 2022 package mixed fan access with a say in team decisions. Each franchise was allotted 25 Fire-tier tokens and 975 Gold-tier tokens, giving the offer a team-by-team structure.

Fire-tier tokens were offered at $25,000 each, compared with $5,000 for Gold-tier tokens.

Buyers were promised game access and votes on team representatives, uniform colors and league awards. Fire holders were also offered the right to use their team’s name and logo to make and sell artwork and designs.

The financial benefits came with conditions. Fire-tier holders were promised a collective 40 percent of net proceeds from a future team sale, subject to regulatory approval. Separately, the package offered an opportunity to obtain shares at the initial public offering price if BIG3 went public.

The Sun also cited an October disclosure that BIG3 had “entered into settlement agreements with two NFT purchasers” in 2025, followed by two more in the first half of 2026.

In June, BIG3 and Graf Global announced plans to merge, creating a path from holding-company equity to public stock.

The terms called for existing equity and equity-linked holdings to convert into shares of the combined company at closing.

The June agreement valued BIG3 at $290 million before new funding and potential earnouts. Its closing conditions included shareholder and regulatory approvals, a stock-exchange listing and at least $50 million in net cash proceeds. Howery’s units would become public-company stock only if the merger closes.