The Miami Heat and Miami-Dade County are ending their short-lived naming rights deal with the embroiled cryptocurrency company FTX.
The county, which owns the arena, struck a 19-year, $135 million sponsorship deal with FTX in March 2021 and renamed the stadium FTX Arena in June.
On Friday, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried stepped down from his position as the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, after scrambling to shore up an $8 billion liquidity crisis that has left investors unable to claim their funds.
“The reports about FTX and its affiliates are extremely disappointing,” a joint statement from the county and team read. “Miami-Dade County and the Miami HEAT are immediately taking action to terminate our business relationships with FTX, and we will be working together to find a new naming rights partner for the arena.”
Miami is one of many sports organizations and figures to get caught up in the FTX mess.
Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen co-starred in a $20 million ad campaign for FTX, receiving an equity stake in the company along with cryptocurrency in return.
NBA superstar Steph Curry was made a global ambassador for the company in exchange for an equity stake. Tennis star Naomi Osaka was also given an equity stake. Angels star Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Jones of the Green Bay Packers both signed on as global ambassadors for the company as well.
The Miami Heat are ending off their partnership with FTX, a crypto company.REUTERS/Marco BelloThe Mercedes Formula One team, who also had a sponsorship deal with FTX, announced Friday that it would suspend its relationship with the company and remove its logo from its cars.
Major League Baseball struck a deal with FTX to become its “first-ever umpire uniform patch partner.” MLB umpires had worn the FTX logo on their uniforms since the 2021 All-Star Game.
