Trouble keeps following Tom Brady, the veteran quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The National Football League icon is at risk of losing a multimillion-dollar investment in FTX and FTX.US. The athlete had closed an equity deal with the second largest crypto exchange in the world back in 2021.
Moreover, Mr. Brady was bound to become a global brand ambassador for FTX, together with his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen serving as social and environmental advisor for the crypto company. Right after making the deal, the famous American athlete came back to the field after a sudden change of heart. Further on, Brady and Bündchen invested a whopping $650 million to maximize their stake at the pulverized FTX enterprise.
Tom Brady is going to have to play until he’s 50. pic.twitter.com/4YWA8UvYvr
— Dare Obasanjo 🐀 (@Carnage4Life) November 9, 2022
FTX’s Downfall and Binance’s Chess Move
The 21st season in the NFL isn’t going as planned for Tom Brady, and his deal with FTX is yet another disappointment. Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of FTX, successfully managed to close another funding round, estimating FTX’s evaluation to a whopping $32 billion. However, soon after Tom Brady agreed to become an FTX ambassador, the tables turned.
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SBF calmed investors down on Twitter with a long thread explaining how the funds located in his crypto exchange are “fine.” He stated that “a competitor is trying to go after us with false rumors. FTX is fine”, on November 7th, 2022. Most likely referring to Binance, ‘the competitor’ bought out FTX just a day following Bankman’s tweet.
From Binance CEO CZ’s point of view, the move was simply a cry for help from FTX to help sort out “the significant liquidity crunch.” As Binance agreed to buy the embattled crypto platform, SBF deleted the controversial Twitter thread.
Don't mean to be the bearer of bad news here, but if it isn't clear already, if you still have funds on FTX, they're gone. You're an unsecured creditor.
— Dylan LeClair 🟠 (@DylanLeClair_) November 8, 2022
The probable outcome is Chapter 11 & a class action lawsuit that draws out for years, where you get $0.10-$0.30 on the dollar.
FTX Fiasco Takes A Toll On Crypto Celebrities
Tom Brady is not the only mega-star athlete affected by the ongoing FTX massacre. Let’s not forget that the Miami Heat officially changed the name of their home venue to ‘FTX Arena’ in 2019, when FTX agreed to pay $135M to reserve the arena’s name for the next 19 years.
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On top of that, arguably the greatest three-point shooter of all time, NBA superstar Steph Curry inked a deal with the plagued crypto exchange back in September 2021. The inaugural move into crypto had Curry curious, as the Golden State Warriors point guard posted a tweet asking for advice in the crypto world on September 7th, 2021.
The FTX wreckage will most likely reverberate around the world of sports, as the company had Shaquille O’Neal endorsing the platform in TV ads, while SBF dubbed the MLB star Shohei Ohtani ‘The Great Cryptohtani’, as the athlete was supposed to become the front-magazine face of the then ambitious, now beleaguered, crypto company.
From the Miami Heat home arena to Shohei Ohtani, FTX committed hundreds of millions of dollars to sports deals over the last couple of years. It's unclear what will happen to those after FTX was acquired by Binance. my @FOS story. https://t.co/RZaVxD1lq2
— A.J. Perez (@byajperez) November 8, 2022
On the Flipside
- Despite agreeing to buy main rival FTX, Binance’s boss said “the company can pull out of the deal” at any time.
Why You Should Care
The ongoing implosion of the FTX exchange and its native token FTX (FTT) sets a domino effect for the whole crypto industry. To illustrate, the global crypto market cap had already bled out over $100 billion in the past 24 hours.
Read the latest developments in the chaotic FTX fiasco:
The Untold Story of the Alameda-FTX Crisis That Nearly Brought Down the Crypto Market
Alameda Provides Proof of Funds to BitDAO (BIT) As BIT Unexpectedly Plunges 20%
