Ledger Scores Slam Dunk with NBA Team—Crypto Sports Deals Make a Comeback
Crypto just crossed another mainstream threshold—hardware wallet giant Ledger just inked a deal with an NBA franchise, signaling sports partnerships are back in play.
Why it matters: After the 2022 crypto winter froze athlete endorsements and stadium naming rights, this move proves Web3 isn't sitting on the bench anymore.
The play-by-play: While terms weren't disclosed, industry insiders confirm the deal includes branded courtside signage and fan engagement through NFT ticketing—because what's sports without some speculative asset trading?
Between the lines: Franchises are dipping toes back into crypto waters as Bitcoin flirts with new highs. Just don't ask if they're accepting salary payments in USDT yet.
Bottom line: When legacy finance keeps fumbling the digital asset game, sports orgs become unlikely crypto evangelists—even if they still think 'HODL' is a defensive strategy.
Crypto sports partnerships
Ledger’s Spurs sponsorship comes amid a revival in partnerships between professional athletics teams and major crypto firms over the past year.
Crypto companies’ spending on sports sponsorships recently increased 20% to $565 million for the 2024/25 season on a year-over-year basis, with football-related initiatives accounting for more than half of new sponsorship deals, according to a recent report from sports marketing firm SportQuake.
Among those deals was Tether’s purchase of a stake in Italian soccer team Juventus and trading platform Gate’s sponsorship of Formula One team Red Bull Racing.
Uniform branding deals—like Ledger’s partnership with the Spurs—are a popular way for digital assets companies to sponsor athletics teams, accounting for 37% of all crypto sports partnerships, SportQuake data shows.
The recent increase in sports sponsorships marks a stunning reversal from late 2022, when Web3 firms pulled back on, or cancelled, their partnerships due to difficult crypto market conditions precipitated by FTX’s collapse.
During that time, FTX’s partnerships with the MLB, Formula One and the NBA crumbled.
