Miami Heat closer to killing FTX deal as bankrupt crypto giant asks to end sponsorships

The Miami Heat is moving closer to ending its high-profile connection to the disgraced FTX crypto company after the firm asked a bankruptcy judge to cancel its sponsorship deals with the team and the county-owned arena where the Heat plays.

Lawyers for FTX filed a motion last week to cancel a list of more than 23 marketing deals, including its naming-rights agreement with Miami-Dade County for what’s still called the FTX Arena. Other deals FTX wants scrapped involve marketing or sponsorship arrangements with Gisele Bündchen, the Golden State Warriors, the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, and Major League Baseball.

READ MORE: Miami’s star turn in the crypto boom now has an iconic bust: the Heat’s FTX Arena

In November, Miami-Dade asked a New York bankruptcy judge to void the 2021 deal with FTX, citing “hardship” from being associated with FTX, a once high-flying crypto trading operation that now has its ousted CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, facing criminal fraud charges.

Days before, the Miami Heat issued a joint statement with the county saying the team wanted out of its separate FTX sponsorship agreement, too.

With the filing from the new FTX corporate leadership, both sides in the company’s $135 million deal with the county for the Miami arena are asking to end the 19-year arrangement.

FTX has already paid $20 million on the Miami-Dade deal, with another $5.5 million payment due in January. The FTX motion asks a judge to cancel all the deals retroactively to Dec. 31, 2022. Miami-Dade hasn’t said whether it would object to the timing, or if ending the deal early would impact what the county claims it is owed from FTX.

Creditors have until Jan. 13 to object to canceling the marketing deals, and a hearing on the request is scheduled for Feb. 8.

This story was originally published January 5, 2023 at 9:08 AM.