The sports industry took a hard hit from the coronavirus pandemic. Most leagues got suspended, and then teams played without the audience for an extended period. Sports clubs started to seek out new revenue streams, and the crypto industry arrived to aid with juicy deals. Numerous partnerships between major sports clubs grabbed headlines over the last year. Even national teams and major club unions joined the trend. So, it became even more surprising when FC Barcelona and Manchester City, two of the biggest soccer clubs in Europe, terminated their crypto-related sponsorship deals in the same week. FC Barcelona canceled its …

The team behind the Floki Inu (FLOKI) token — inspired by Elon Musk’s pet dog of the same name — has signed a sponsorship deal with Italian football giant S.S.C. Napoli. S.S.C Napoli was founded in 1926 and is one of the most popular professional teams in Italy. The historic club won its first Serie A title in 1987 led by the late global football icon Diego Maradona, and is currently sitting at first place in the league for the 2021-2022 season. Here is SSC Napoli's official tweet about the partnership with #FLOKI. Go and show them love, Vikings! https://t.co/cSfZxvkUCc …

Odell Beckham Jr., wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams football team, has said he will be taking all of his $4.25 million National Football League salary in Bitcoin. In a Nov. 22 post to his Twitter account, Beckham said he would be partnering with Cash App to take his next NFL salary in Bitcoin (BTC). National Insider reporter Ian Rapoport said earlier this month that Beckham would be earning a $750,000 base salary on top of a $500,000 signing bonus in addition to $3 million in other incentives, totaling $4.25 million for the 2021 season. It's a NEW ERA …

This year has seen a number of high profile partnerships formed between the cryptocurrency sector and major sports leagues, teams and individual players. Nowadays players engage with their fans by issuing limited edition NFTs and other perks that are associated with crypto and blockchain technology. Crypto companies are also making their presence known stitching their names on jerseys, buying stadium naming rights and paying for cleverly placed primetime commercials between game breaks. One project that has seen a recent surge in interest thanks to its focus in the world of sports and helping fans interact with their favorite teams and …

Aaron Rodgers, quarterback for the Green Bay Packers football team, has said he will be taking part of his National Football League salary in Bitcoin. In a video posted to his Twitter account on Nov. 1, Rodgers — dressed as fictional character John Wick, likely for Halloween — said he would be partnering with Cash App to take a portion of his salary in Bitcoin (BTC). The NFL reported in July that Rodgers would be earning a $1.1 million base salary on top of a $14.5 million signing bonus and a $6.8 million roster bonus from March, totaling roughly $22.3 …

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has secured an advertisement spot in one of the most watched events in America — the championship game of the National Football League, to be held in Feb. 2022 According to a report in Bloomberg, FTX purchased an ad in this year’s Super Bowl LVI motivated by the wide reach of the audience. The Super Bowl is invariably the top rating TV program of the year, and accounts for 28 of the 30 highest rating broadcasts in U.S. TV history. Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of FTX exchange, has made football one of the priorities within a …

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady nearly lost ownership of the ball behind his 600th touchdown pass, but now he’s paying for it… in Bitcoin. In an Oct. 24 game between the Buccaneers and Chicago Bears, Brady threw his 600th career touchdown pass to fellow teammate Mike Evans — he is the only player in NFL history to have ever achieved so many touchdown passes in his career. The wide receiver, apparently not realizing the significance of the ball, handed it off to Byron Kennedy, a fan wearing a jersey with Evans’ namesake. According to Ken Goldin, the founder of …

Sorare, a marketplace for nonfungible token (NFT) trading cards, has raised $680 million in a Series B funding round led by Japanese fintech giant SoftBank, resulting in a revised valuation of $4.3 billion for the platform. According to the company, the latest funding will help expand Sorare’s portfolio of football player NFTs by partnering with more football leagues and associations. In early September, the French NFT-based trading platform secured its first soccer league partnership with La Liga in addition to having NFT collaborations with Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool and other top-tier soccer teams. Sorare also plans to diversify its NFT-based portfolio …

The United States National Football League (NFL) has reportedly barred all teams and members from crypto-related sponsorships and advertisements, as well as nonfungible token (NFT) sales. According to a report by The Athletic, the NFL has restricted the sale of sponsorships to cryptocurrency trading firms and NFTs until the league establishes a strategy “for sports digital trading cards and art.” The new guidelines were shared by an anonymous NFL member familiar with the matter: “Clubs are prohibited from selling, or otherwise allowing within club controlled media, advertisements for specific cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings, other cryptocurrency sales or any other media …

Crypto derivatives exchange FTX has purchased the naming rights to the University of California’s Cal Memorial Stadium with a view to introducing its own branding. The Sam Bankman-Fried-owned derivatives exchange is delving deeper into sports after signing a 10-year, $17.5-million naming rights deal with the university. The stadium’s home team, the California Golden Bears, will now play its games at newly rebranded FTX Field this football season, according to Bloomberg. The $17.5 million will also be paid to the university in the form of crypto assets. The deal is FTX’s latest foray into sponsoring sports to drum up awareness of …

Digital asset exchange platform Crypto.com will be prominently featured in football matches during Italy’s Lega Serie A competition as part of a partnership with the league. In a Thursday announcement, Lega Serie A said Crypto.com was going to be presenting key broadcast moments for the Italian football competition “where technology enhances the match.” Specifically, the platform has formed a multi-year partnership to help present the series’ “goal of the month,” as well as broadcast moments using video playback to judge fouls and whether goals are legitimate. Crypto.com sponsored Lega Serie A in the Coppa Italia football cup in May, when …

The football ecosystem has stepped up its adoption game as more clubs continue to involve crypto in mainstream operations. Netherland-based top-tier football club PSV Eindhoven has partnered with local crypto trading platform Anycoin Direct, which will pay the club an undisclosed amount of Bitcoin (BTC) in a new sponsorship deal. According to the official statement, Anycoin Direct will remain an official partner of PSV Eindhoven for the next two seasons with the goal of growing awareness of crypto across Europe. By using the crypto platform’s services, PSV Eindhoven will be able to receive the total sponsorship amount in Bitcoin, making …