The Miami Heat Desperately Want To Get Out Of Its FTX Arena Sponsorship

For those who’ve been following the FTX saga, you understand the cryptocurrency alternate firm is in dire straits. The Division of Justice and the Securities and Change Fee are investigating FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and the corporate for allegedly mishandling clients’ funds. The corporate owes greater than $3 billion to collectors and just lately filed for chapter.

For the lengthy listing of movie star FTX endorsers—together with Steph Curry, Tom Brady, and Shaquille O’Neal—that is a foul look. They’ve put their popularity and cash behind the corporate, and sure will not see both absolutely recuperate.

However maybe nobody is extra annoyed by FTX’s collapse than the Miami Warmth. Or, slightly, all the Miami-Dade County. That is as a result of the Warmth performs in FTX Area — and so they’re solely within the second season of a 20-year, $135 million naming rights deal.

The county owns the sector, so that they’ve requested a federal decide to void the settlement instantly. After FTX filed for chapter, a decide issued a “keep” order, which suggests no entity can act towards the corporate. A courtroom will hear Miami-Dade’s case on December 16. If the choice goes towards the county, the Warmth will nonetheless be enjoying in FTX Area till 2040.

Miami-Dade has already acquired practically $20 million from FTX and owes one other $5.5 million in January. If FTX defaults, it will owe a further $17 million over the following three years.

For now, the Warmth nonetheless calls FTX Area house. The FTX emblem is on the surface of the constructing, on the courtroom, and on the Warmth jerseys. Warmth legend Udonis Haslem starred in an FTX business that aired for a number of months throughout sport broadcasts.

Again in 2021, when FTX was thriving, it signed a number of sport sponsorship offers. MLB named FTX the official cryptocurrency alternate of the league. The Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, and Washington Capitals all have FTX contracts, too.

The subsequent few weeks will likely be particularly tense for Miami-Dade County. The better Miami space has already been hit onerous by the sharp decline of crypto, and having to sport the title of a failed crypto alternate could be a long-term black eye on town.