The Golden State Warriors and FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, have committed to collaborate on a worldwide rights’ sponsorship.
They have not publicized the deal’s specifics, but sources close to the situation tell CNBC that it’s a multiyear deal for more than $10 million in total. Because they have no permission to discuss contract details, the people discussed the agreement on the condition of anonymity. It’s the Golden State Warriors’ first overseas contract, worth $5.6 billion.
With a market capitalization of about $25 billion, FTX is one of the world’s largest digital currency exchanges. It competes with Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken.
In an interview, Warrior’s president and chief operating officer Brandon Schneider noted that FTX was a start-up that drew his attention a few months ago.
He went on to say that they believe they are at the start of the beginning. They’re all learning, and this area will continue to change.
It’s the newest collaboration for FTX, which also has an umpire jersey collaboration with Major League Baseball. In a transaction worth $135 million over 19 years, it also took over name rights to the Miami Heat arena.
FTX, according to Schneider, is a market leader on the right track.
FTX and Major League Basketball
The NBA started allowing clubs to use international norms in 2019 as part of an effort to broaden its global reach.
The Warriors’ G League club and the NBA 2K e-sports team will give FTX brand exposure, as well as in-arena signage and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) rights at Chase Center.
On Warriors regional sports network games, FTX will also have virtual floor inventory. Television shows throughout domestic and international NBA games, the virtual logos, which mimic actual floor signage. Virtual advertisements are could bring in around $15,000 every quarter, according to industry insiders.
An RSN owned by NBCUniversal, CNBC’s parent company, broadcast the majority of Warriors games are broadcast.
Cryptocurrency companies have been persistent in their quest of sports sponsorships in 2021, and the NBA has taken notice.
The National Football League, for example, is wary of the crypto industry, and there are rumors that bitcoin partnerships are similar to the dot-com sports sponsorship boom.
The analogies to the dot-com bust, according to Schneider, are reasonable.
According to him, if that is indeed the case. Essentially, the dot-com boom was a precursor to the internet as we know it today, thus this is the start. This is only the start of all of these organizations.
In addition, the Warriors and FTX partnered together to donate one bitcoin to three local groups dedicated to educational equity: Self-eSTEM, Mission Bit, and Techbridge Girls, each of which received a donation of one bitcoin.
Schneider noted that the community has been quite supportive of them, and that they would like to reciprocate that generosity.
The agreement comes at a time when the organization is commemorating its 75th year in the NBA. The Golden State Warriors have one of the best winning records in the league this season, and its star player, Stephen Curry, is putting on a show for the fans.
