By Samantha Langford
October 24, 2021
Photo Credit: Associated Press
The presence of cryptocurrency companies has skyrocketed into the sports space, filled with a plethora of new sponsorships and naming rights.
Amidst these new deals, crypto’s virtual currencies have become a prominent aspect of the sports realm, flooding the market. Cryptocurrency companies’ impact on the sports industry has revolutionized emerging sponsorships that highlight the product’s unique attributes.
FTX Trading Limited, a cryptocurrency exchange, recently struck a sponsorship deal with the MLB. The umpires began wearing the company’s logo on their uniform, acting as the first ever umpire patch partner of the league.
FTX is also the winner of the Miami Heat’s arena naming deal. The $135 million deal gives way to the new FTX Arena, providing exposure for the virtual currencies platform. The company also struck a $17.5 million collegiate deal with UC Berkeley, renaming their football field the “FTX Field."
Crypto.com, another cryptocurrency platform, recently signed a branding deal with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens. This announcement came soon after FTX’s deal with the Heat, featuring the company’s logo on the ice at their home arena, the Bell Centre.
Crypto.com also signed an agreement with Paris Saint Germain, acting as the club’s first crypto platform partner. The French football team’s multi-year deal adds to Crypto.com’s growing sport portfolio in partnerships, and includes PSG non-fungible tokens (NFT) on the company’s NFT platform.
The New York based Drone Racing League landed a $100 million deal with the crypto platform Algorand this past September. This type of sponsorship deal is indicative of the wide variety of opportunities for crypto to become involved in the sport realm. Other sponsorships include the Air Force, T-Mobile, and DraftKings, making this deal the first of its kind for the league.
Cryptocurrency platforms are changing their identity within the sport space, making themselves a prominent partner of many teams and leagues.
The virtual currency companies’ futures are bright with deals consistently struck globally. This influx of crypto deals leave us wondering—will these partnerships be retained long-term? Only time will tell.
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