Sports have widely been one of the largest adopters and supporters of cryptocurrencies before and after the massive NFT bull run that began in 2021. In fact, NBA Top Shot was one of the initial NFT collections that ignited the entire market following Beeple’s $69 million art sale. 

Unfortunately, the sports industry is next in a long line of associations that partnered with FTX that are feeling the pressure as they cut ties and begin conducting damage control before the world cup begins later this month.

New lawsuit includes athletes

With so much legal pressure hitting Sam Bankman-Fried and his inner-circle of friends that worked at FTX & Alameda Research, it was only a matter of time until people sponsored by FTX began to feel the heat. 

Well-known athletes such as Tom Brady and Steph Curry are being included in a new class-action lawsuit being filed against the former exchange, claiming that the company used influential celebrities to encourage large groups of people to invest in crypto through the FTX exchange which ended up using those funds for trading through Alameda Research. 

Despite the fact that individuals are solely responsible for what they do with their own money, crypto is largely a misunderstood concept among the general public and the lawsuit claims that FTX used that knowledge to its advantage with sponsorships from major athletes and celebrities. 

FTX removed from arenas

In a similar event, the FTX logo has also been removed from the sports arena in Miami which was renamed to FTX Arena in 2021 when many cryptocurrencies and NFTs were on the rise. 

The location also made a lot of sense because FTX was headquartered in the Bahamas which is close to Miami. The city has also opened its doors to other major crypto companies and is positioning itself to be a major crypto hub for the industry with more web3 businesses moving there along with a plethora of cryptocurrency events. 

Another well-known arena, Crypto.com Arena (formerly known as Staples Center) in Los Angeles, is also being scrutinized for its sponsorship from the Crypto.com exchange which has suffered from the FTX fallout as many look to their native token $CRO wondering if it is just as prone to collapse. 

World Cup Marketed as a Crypto Event

A lot of these issues surrounding sports sponsorships come at a sensitive time when the FIFA World Cup is fast approaching. Sponsored by Crypto.Com, the tournament is being marketed as a major crypto event that includes merchandise and technology stemming from blockchain technology and the metaverse. 

The tournament also has a major sponsorship with Algorand which has been a resilient blockchain through the crypto crash during the summer and markets itself as one of the most green blockchain networks available online, unlike Bitcoin and other proof-of-work networks. 

Similarly, many popular soccer players like Lionel Messi have taken to cryptocurrency and have signed contracts that include crypto as a part of their salary. Neymar Jr, Messi’s longtime teammate, has also expressed interest in the technology and started his own collection on the Ethereum blockchain. 

While many communities such as the gaming community have stressed their opposition to the technology, it seems that the sports world is still very much interested in cryptocurrency and how it can improve the experience of being a fan for people around the world. However, with the fallout from FTX still spreading, things might have to take a step back before athletes can continue growing their brands with blockchain technology.