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The oldest major professional sports league in America is the latest entity to cut ties with embattled cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Major League Baseball confirmed Thursday it has terminated its five-year sponsorship deal with FTX after the exchange — along with more than 130 affiliated companies — filed for bankruptcy last week.
- MLB and FTX agreed to the deal in 2021, making FTX the league’s official exchange.
- The league’s umpires had worn an FTX patch on their shirts from July 2021 through this year.
FTX’s bankruptcy has spurred the collapse of several sports-related deals.
Earlier this week, the Miami Heat and Miami-Dade County terminated a 19-year, $135 million naming rights deal with FTX secured in March 2021. The contract between the team, county, and FTX requires the exchange to pay $16.5 million if it faces an “insolvency event.”
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team suspended its sponsorship deal with FTX, and Cal suspended its naming rights deal for the football field at California Memorial Stadium.
Cal was in the midst of a 10-year, $17.5 million deal with FTX that was to be paid in crypto.
Esports organization TSM — the most valuable esports company in 2022 at $540 million — has also decided to suspend its 10-year, $210 million naming rights deal with FTX.
Legal Woes
A consortium of investors has sued FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and several high-profile athletes who promoted the exchange.
Included in the $11 billion class-action suit are seven-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady, NBA star Steph Curry, and others.
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