Crypto companies are taking over sports: find out who supports your favorite team

It would seem there’s a long distance between the current crypto winter and professional sports. How can one affect the other? Well, it can.

Italian football club Internazionale, better known as Inter, has just removed the open-source blockchain company DigitalBits logo from the club’s website due to sponsorship payments being late. Stadium billboards during the friendly match in Cesena against Lyon on Saturday night are not expected to contain DigitalBits ads, too.

According to Il Sole 24 Ore, Inter is unhappy with the cryptocurrency company because it does not comply with payment deadlines. At the same time, the parties are very interested in solving the problem of missed payments as quickly as possible.

DigitalBits also cooperates with another famous Italian football club Roma (but we haven’t yet heard of any problems from their side).

But it’s not all bad. Crypto companies and sports are actively cooperating and strengthening their relationship with more and more contracts.

According to a study by analytics firm Nielsen, blockchain companies’ investment in sports sponsorship will reach $5 billion by 2026. But it is also said that for sponsorship brands, much will depend on the ability to attract new audiences. So, long-term success will depend on bridging the gap between awareness and conversion. For many people, crypto is a new and unfamiliar industry.

A Nielsen study found that 52% of esports fans and 39% of traditional sports fans said they were aware of cryptocurrency tokens (a figure higher than the general population). In addition, 24% of sports fans also expressed interest in NFTs.

The report predicts that investment in sports sponsorship using cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and NFTs will grow by 778 percent over 2021. There were 2,254 sponsorship deals in 2021 (up from 1,785 in 2020).

Formula 1

Formula 1 has a new sponsor in the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. But insiders told CNBC it is a five-year deal worth more than $100 million.

As part of the agreement, Crypto.com will represent its brand at Formula 1 events, including the new Sprint qualifying format that will be used in some races to determine the starting positions of cars. Crypto.com will also receive trackside seats at Formula 1 races through the end of the current season.

The company will also present a new award at the Belgian Grand Prix in August and partner with the NFT.

Crypto.com’s crypto platform has more than 10 million users. It also has agreements with Formula One team Aston Martin and the National Hockey League franchise Montreal Canadiens.

The oldest and most successful Formula One team, McLaren, entered into a long-term partnership with Turkish cryptocurrency company Bitci.com back in April 2021. The latter will create an official fan token for the McLaren team.

NBA

This season, the contribution of cryptocurrency companies in the NBA was $100–150 million. Thus, the total contribution reached $1.6 billion, Spotico reports. 

Among the most significant deals is Coinbase’s agreement to sponsor the NBA, under which the platform became the exclusive crypto sponsor of all games.

Also, Crypto.com, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency company, struck a $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. The team’s Staples Center was renamed Crypto.com Arena as part of the agreement.

FTX crypto exchange signed a 19-year, $135 million deal for the naming rights of the Miami Heat team’s arena.

The Brooklyn Nets and brokerage trading platform Webull have agreed to $30 million per season in jersey patches.

MMA

In June, the world’s leading mixed martial arts (MMA) organization UFC and global blockchain fund VeChain agreed on a long-term partnership. VeChain will get a glimpse of the UFC during UFC broadcasts. And that’s to about 900 million households in 175 countries. The agreement also includes an annual brand ambassador fund whose members will receive paid marketing opportunities.

VeChain also received its fighter rankings called UFC Rankings Powered by VeChain and the right to have its brand presence in the world-renowned UFC octagon at all 42 UFC events per year and 10 Dana White’s Contender Series events.

Football

Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Bybit announced a multi-year partnership with German Bundesliga soccer club Borussia Dortmund in November 2020.  

U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Voyager Digital became the first cryptocurrency brokerage partner of the U.S. National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in December 2021, entering into one of the most significant corporate sponsorship agreements in league history. The company will also create and fund cryptocurrency accounts for players and provide them with financial education on cryptocurrencies to help their finances after the end of their competitive careers. These funds will come from Voyager’s investment in the league, with approximately 50%of the payments made by the NWSL split evenly among all players.

In February, Manchester United FC announced a multi-year, $27 million-a-year sponsorship deal with Tezos. As part of the agreement, the company’s Proof of Stake blockchain symbol appears on the soccer team’s warm-up jerseys before matches.

Blockchain.com partnered with a National Football League (NFL) team in April, the Dallas Cowboys. The company said it was “the first-ever cryptocurrency partnership with an NFL team.”

The company will also create and fund cryptocurrency accounts for players and provide them with financial education on cryptocurrencies to help their finances after the end of their competitive careers.

These funds will come from Voyager’s investment in the league, with approximately 50 percent of the payments made by the NWSL split evenly among all players.

In addition, Crypto.com has become the official sponsor of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The branding will appear during each game.