A federal bankruptcy court just pulled the plug on the naming rights deal between FTX and Miami-Dade County, clearing the way for the fallen crypto giant’s logo to get scrubbed from the Miami Heat’s NBA arena. Once the third-biggest cryptocurrency exchange around, FTX went down in flames, racking up losses between $8 billion and $10 billion before filing for bankruptcy. Now, its flashy sponsorship days are fading fast.
Back on November 22, Miami-Dade officials moved to ditch the agreement after FTX’s collapse. The deal, struck in 2021, was set to pump $2 million a year into the Heat Arena, with a final $5.5 million payment due January 1. When FTX stiffed them, the county called foul—under the contract, a breach like this means FTX owes three years’ worth of payments, tallying up to $17 million in damages.
Stripping FTX’s name off the arena won’t be a quick fix. The branding’s everywhere—plastered on the roof, the court, the entrances, even the security guards’ polo shirts and staff keycards. It’s a big cleanup job, but the court’s order gives Miami-Dade the green light to erase it all.
Sports deals were FTX’s bread and butter for getting its name out there. Beyond the Heat Arena, they inked pacts with a Mercedes-backed Formula 1 team, nabbed naming rights for Cal Memorial Stadium, and even got NFL legend Tom Brady to vouch for them. Esports squad Team SoloMid also got tangled up, signing a $210 million deal in 2021 that rebranded them as TSM FTX—only to ditch it when the exchange cratered.
FTX’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, isn’t dodging the fallout either. Arrested in the Bahamas last month, he’s now back in the U.S. facing a slew of criminal charges. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams isn’t holding back, calling it “one of the largest frauds in American history.” Out on bail, Bankman-Fried’s got an October trial date looming. Meanwhile, the Heat Arena’s shedding its FTX skin, marking one more chapter in the exchange’s spectacular unraveling.
