FTX Naming Rights Deal Terminated for Miami NBA Arena
MIAMI (FLV) – A judge has terminated FTX’s naming rights deal for Miami Heat arena after a Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission investigation for allegedly mishandling funds of its customers, according to reports.
The move will allow FTX’s brand, including signage and advertising, to be stripped from the arena where the NBA’s Miami Heat play.
Terminating the rights deal “shall be effective immediately upon entry of this order,” said U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John T. Dorsey.
The county had a 19-year, $135 million naming rights deal for FTX Arena, where the NBA’s Miami-Heat play.
It was previously reported FTX filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11, and a judge issued an order preventing entities from acting against the company. That includes Miami-Dade County’s naming rights deal.
Miami-Dade said if the agreement continues, it would cause “significant hardship” and harm efforts to find a new sponsor for the NBA arena.
The crypto firm reportedly has paid the South Florida county nearly $20 million, and is set to pay another $5.5 million in January. The county is seeking $17 million in damages.
FTX’s logo is on the Miami Heat’s court and team jerseys.
After being valued at $30 billion, the firm collapsed and is in debt billions of dollars to creditors.
Bankman-Fried’s firm collapse has sent shockwaves in the crypto market, with another crypto firm BlockFi going bankrupt Monday.
Many other companies had been bailed out by FTX and Alameda Research. It is therefore quite logical that some of these companies were expected to find themselves in difficulty after the bankruptcy of the Bankman-Fried empire. The list of collateral victims therefore begins to appear with the bankruptcy filing on November 28
The Street
