Heat to cut ties with bankrupt FTX, rename arena
The Miami Heat have decided to terminate their relationship with the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which filed for bankruptcy Friday.
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Everything wrong with the unregulated market ….some of these ppl should be in prison but they want to undermine confidence in the sector so fiat remains dominant but it’s only a matter of time
Miami-Dade County and the Miami Heat are ending their arena naming rights deal with bankrupt cryptocurrency firm FTX.Heat to cut ties with bankrupt FTX, rename arena
The Miami Heat have decided to terminate their relationship with the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which filed for bankruptcy Friday.
The county, which owns the arena, signed a 19-year, $135 million deal for the bayfront Heat homecourt's name in 2021. After an initial balloon payment of $14 million, FTX was scheduled to make a $5.5 million payment in January.
The arena will still technically be referred to as FTX Arena for Saturday's game between the Heat and Charlotte Hornets, but signage and the name will soon come down.
"The reports about FTX and its affiliates are extremely disappointing," the county and team said in a joint statement. "Miami-Dade County and the Miami HEAT are immediately taking action to terminate our business relationships with FTX. We will be working together to find a new naming rights partner for the arena."
FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday after a steep fall in crypto prices left the company unable to cover accounts as customers rushed to withdraw funds.
The deal in Miami was one of a number of sports marketing deals FTX had signed over the past few years, including sponsorship deals with the Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards. Among top athletes who had FTX deals included Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, Warriors guard Stephen Curry and tennis star Naomi Osaka.
FTX also entered into a deal with Mercedes for Formula One racing and a sponsorship deal with Major League Baseball, whose umpires wear the company's logo. Earlier Friday, Mercedes said it would immediately remove FTX logos from its Formula One cars.
The Heat's home was known as American Airlines Arena from its opening in 1999 until last season.
The team was to receive $2 million a year as part of the naming rights deal with FTX. Most of the rest -- roughly $90 million over the lifetime of the agreement -- was to be paid to the county, the vast majority of it earmarked toward fighting gun violence and poverty.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The girl on the right is Sam Bankman Fried's girlfriend. I'm sure she is a nice person but if I had $16 billion I might be looking for an upgrade. Maybe she is the one who came up with hack in 2017 that enabled Bankman to convert Japan Bitcoin and sell it elsewhere turning $10,000 to one billion.
That's Brady's X
Not sure if real.
She should be in jail with him
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas as customers’ billions go missing in company collapse
FTX underwent a $16 billion implosion amid reports that co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried had been funneling money to a sister trading company.
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