"Holey Moley," the wacky extreme mini-golf competition for which Golden State Warrior star Stephen Curry serves as executive producer and resident golf pro, returns to ABC for another season on June 17. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images/TNS)
FTX – one of the leading cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges – recently sponsored the NBA’s Golden State Warriors for $10 million. This is an international sponsorship, marking the first global deal for the basketball team.
As reported by CNBC, though terms were not announced publicly, people familiar with the deal said this is a multi-year pact. Since they aren’t authorized to discuss contract specifics, the sources have remained anonymous.
FTX is currently the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Its CEO – Sam Bankman Fried – is the richest man in crypto, boasting a net worth of $22.9 billion at under 30-years old.
Brandon Schneider – Warriors’ President and Chief Operating Officer – said he’d had his eye on FTX for months, calling the exchange a “market leader.”
“We think we’re at the beginning of the beginning. We’re all learning, and this space will evolve quite a bit,” he stated.
As part of the deal, FTX will receive brand placement with the NBA 2K esports team and Warrior’s G League Club. They’ll also get arena signage at the Chase Center and rights to the team’s NFTs.
The FTX logo will even be virtually displayed on the stadium floor during the Warrior’s national NBA games. Coinbase has already made similar arrangements, becoming an official cryptocurrency partner of the NBA in October.
The Warrior’s partnership marks another of FTX’s advertising initiatives in the sports sphere, following its purchase of a Superbowl ad in October.
Steph Curry – one of the Warriors’ top players – is already versed with the crypto game, including FTX specifically. In September, he joined FTX as an ambassador and shareholder. Receiving an equity stake in the company, he also had FTX launch several like-minded charity initiatives under the deal. This was only after Tom Brady of the NFL took an equity stake in the exchange in June.
The basketball player has shown a personal interest in the crypto sphere as well, purchasing a Bored-Ape NFT for $180k in August. As a recent entrant, he’s publicly asked for advice over Twitter upon his entry into the industry.