FTX to Pay NBA's Golden State Warriors $10M for Rights Sponsorship: Report

Global cryptocurrency exchange FTX is expanding its presence in the world of sports, striking a multi-million dollar international rights sponsorship deal with the Golden State Warriors, one of the household names in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

While the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC that the multi-year agreement between the Warriors and FTX is valued above $10 million.

With more than $3.1 billion in trading volume over the past 24 hours, FTX.com is currently the industry’s fifth-largest crypto exchange, according to CoinGecko.

The deal will reportedly see FTX receive brand placement with the Warriors’ G League club and the NBA 2K esports team, as well as in-arena signage at Chase Center, the San Francisco-based outfit’s home venue.

Additionally, the crypto trading platform is obtaining rights for the team’s non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and virtual floor inventory during Warriors’ Regional Sports Network (RSN) games.

“FTX is a company that caught our eyes a couple of months ago,” Golden State Warriors president Brandon Schneider told CNBC. “We think we’re at the beginning of the beginning. We’re all learning, and this space will evolve quite a bit.”

The partnership also saw the NBA franchise and FTX donating one Bitcoin to Self-eSTEM, Mission Bit, and Techbridge Girls—local nonprofit organizations focusing on educational equity.

FTX is banking big on marketing in sports

This is not the first time the crypto exchange has splashed out big bucks to build its brand around sports.

In April, another NBA outfit, the Miami Heat, announced a $135 million partnership with the exchange, which saw it rename its home venue to FTX Arena for the next 19 years.

In June, FTX spent a massive $210 million to purchase naming rights to American esports professional team TSM in a 10-year deal, followed by a $17.5 million deal with Cal Berkeley football team in August, which saw the exchange secure naming rights to Cal Memorial Stadium.

Earlier this year, FTX also inked a five-year deal with the MLB, America’s premier baseball league, which included placement of an FTX patch on umpire uniforms and promotion rights across various MLB-affiliated channels, including physical games to social media.

Other major crypto exchanges are also actively exploring marketing opportunities opening up in the sports industry.

Last month, in a staggering $700 million deal that will last for the next two decades, Singapore-based Crypto.com bought naming rights to the Staples Center, the home venue of NHL team the Los Angeles Kings, the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.

Meanwhile, Coinbase, America’s leading crypto exchange, teamed up with the NBA in October for a multi-year partnership that made it the exclusive cryptocurrency platform partner of the NBA, the WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and USA Basketball.