The latest report confirms that FTX, a crypto derivatives exchange, has successfully purchased the naming rights to Californian University’s Cal Memorial Stadium at $17.5 million in a ten-year deal.
This time around, the Sam Bankman-Fried owned derivatives exchange reportedly seems to delve deeper into the sport after the firm sealed a $17.5 million deal with the University to introduce its branding in the sporting arena.
In an August 23 publication published by Bloomberg, FTX confirmed acquiring naming rights for Cal Memorial Stadium at $17.5 million for ten years, with the total sum paid to the University in crypto assets.
In that context, Cal Golden Bear, the Stadium’s home team, will now enjoy playing under the newly rebranded FTX field over this football season. The Cal Memorial deal is the latest foray for FTX in sponsoring sports. The derivates exchange is committed to enhancing crypto awareness among sports enthusiasts.
Nonetheless, this is not the first time FTX has indulged in a sports branding venture. In March, FTX North American sub-division, FTX US, sealed a naming rights deal with the Miami Heat basketball team in a partnership deal that saw the home team’s Stadium have a new look after being rebranded to FTX arena.
FTX is also the official crypto exchange facilitator to Major League Baseball (MLB). As part of the partnership deal, every MLB umpire will don an FTX patch on their uniforms in a sponsorship deal the will last for five years. Surprisingly, the Cal Memorial Stadium located in Alameda County, becomes the namesake of Bankman-Fried owned trading firm, Alameda Research.
Notable executives within FTX also have a strong affiliation to the Cal Golden Bears team, with Sina Nader, Chief Operating Officer at FTX, having been a walk-on member for this team when he was an undergraduate.
Furthermore, 7-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady and wife Gisele Bündchen at Cal Golden Bears team partnered with FTX to promote crypto awareness and adoption in June. Remarkably, the partnership deal saw both Brady and Bündchen each lucratively taking equal stakes in FTX and received crypto payments.
In related advancements, FTX smashed the crypto funding record after the firm successfully raised $900 million to become an “exchange decacorn. The firm is now worth over $ 10 billion.
