Plenty of sportspeople and sports teams have been curious about the crypto markets for quite a while. The emerging cryptocurrency sector is probably one of the smaller asset classes. Still, this hotly-contested sector is getting much attention from pop culture, where ads run during big sports tournaments and sponsorships at stadiums. The NBA, for instance, has been betting heavily on crypto, with the Warriors, Mavericks, and Heat making splashy deals with cryptocurrency companies.
There are a lot of incentives for sports organisations to partner up with crypto companies. Lifetime Contract Value Crypto Sponsorships in Global Sports Crypto sponsorships in global sports are worth over $3 billion; crypto companies spent more than $600 million in those deals in 2021, which is expected to reach nearly $750 million in 2022. Crypto sponsorships went from $1.75 million in 2020-21 to $130 million in 2021-22. In 2019, cryptocurrency companies secured 31 new sports sponsorships, mostly with football teams, according to GlobalData.
The Philadelphia 76ers and an increasing number of other sports teams and leagues landed new sponsorship deals with cryptocurrency companies this year. Over the last two years, as digital assets have grown more and more popular, many sports teams have signed lucrative sponsorship deals with the industry. As crypto companies try to reach a mass audience, some platforms are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on sponsorships of sports teams, stadiums, and even leagues, trying to attract new fans.
Despite its growing popularity, some fan groups and regulators are not welcoming cryptocurrency deals and sponsorships with open arms. The New York Post noted that other crypto companies that spent millions on sports sponsorships recently found themselves struggling financially. Some fear these sponsorships and partnerships may take advantage of fans’ loyalties, encouraging them to make uninformed cryptocurrency expenditures. While Said is certainly optimistic about the long-term future of sports-crypto investments, supporters must be protected by teams they trust.
While this is far from guaranteed, fans can surely expect continued progress from the cryptocurrency industry in sports. The spectre of companies such as Coinbase (the league’s official partner in crypto platforms) and FTX (which has signed arena branding deals with the Warriors and Heat) are pushing their services. In contrast, the crypto market is in the tank, disturbing for the NBA itself. The English Premier League (EPL) has filed for two cryptocurrency and NFT trademarks in the United States, signalling that the most-watched sports league on earth is getting ready to extend its branding to the digital stage. Coinbase signed a multi-year agreement to be the exclusive crypto exchange for the NBA, the WNBA, and the NBA G League.
