Cryptocurrencies and the sporting world may seem like an odd combination. But with exchanges like FTX and Crypto.com putting in more than $1 billion in sports sponsorships, there can be no question that the former is sparking a new trend in the field.
Most prominent of these is the impending renaming of the famed Staples Center in Los Angeles. The legendary sports venue, which has seen numerous NBA championship games, will be known as the Crypto.com Arena beginning December of this year.
The cryptocurrency exchange purchased the naming rights to the home court of the Lakers, Clippers, and the LA Kings of the National Hockey League for a cool $700 million; the deal will run for the better part of 20 years. It is considered the biggest naming rights deal in the history of American sports.
Crypto.com is on a roll
Earlier this year, Crypto.com also sealed another sponsorship deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) at the cost of $175 million. The deal will run for ten years and will put the crypto exchange’s logo on the fight kit worn by both male and female fighters in and out of the ring. Of course, UFC athletes aren’t the only ones who will be sporting the Crypto.com logo on their uniforms: the Philadelphia 76ers’ jerseys will now come with a Crypto.com patch.
The exchange also signed a five-year $100 million sponsorship deal with the Formula 1 league back in June, essentially getting ample advertising mileage as well as plum trackside slots.
Crypto.com has also become the official cryptocurrency partner of the legendary French football club Paris Saint-Germain, going so far as to list the club’s fan token PSG.
FTX Rising
Not to be outdone, cryptocurrency company FTX also bought the naming rights to another iconic sporting venue: the Miami Heat Arena. Under the stipulations of the 19-year $125 million deal, the company will be renaming it the FTX Arena.
FTX has also gone into the college sports scene. Back in August, the company struck a partnership with the University of California in Berkeley to support the latter’s athletics department for a ten-year period. Worth $17.5 million, the deal also gave FTX the right to rename the university football stadium the FTX Field.
The company also ventured into the increasingly popular esports scene when it bought the naming rights to esports titan TSM earlier this year in what is possibly the largest esports sponsorship in history. The organization has since been renamed TSM FTX.
