In one of the stranger emails received from Cal associate athletic director for communications Herb Benenson, Cal Athletics announced a naming rights deal for their field. The California Memorial Stadium turf will be known as FTX Field, in what is touted as the first collegiate cryptocurrency naming-rights sponsorship. FTX.us is a federally-regulated cryptocurrency exchange.
This is not the first time Cal has had a naming rights deal, with the turf bearing the name of mobile games company Kabam from 2013 to 2017. Kabam pulled out of that naming rights deal four years into a 15 year deal. Now, Cal has a ten year deal for $17.5 million, to be paid 100% in crypto, per their announcement.
That last point may not be entirely accurate, as explained in an FAQ sent out with the announcement:
"While LEARFIELD will accept full payment from FTX in cryptocurrency, Cal Athletics is not yet at that point, but will work with FTX to determine the best path forward. Crypto is being accepted in more locations around the country, and Cal will consider how it can introduce it when the time is right."
Learfield, who Cal does their licensing deals with, will serve as the intermediary in this transaction, accepting the cryptocurrency payment and paying Cal in cash.
A deal like this doesn't come along without some connection to the school, with COO of FTX.us Sina Nader (who had the surname Pyghambarzadeh while at Cal) being a former walk-on at the school from 1999-2001, playing defensive ned. Nader graduated in 2002 with a degree in humanities.
There's more than just a naming rights deal. Championed in the release is a partnership between FTX and Cal's Cameron Institute. The Cameron Institute, which opened to focus on student athlete development, has expanded to include the GOLDEN NIL program and will add a program focused on community engagement. This program, while not laid out in the release is intended to serve Berkeley communities, with a focus on the homeless population in the city, underrepresented students, and the Cal Veteran's Group. What this program will look like hasn't been released yet.
There are obvious jokes about an exchange for an unstable currency adorning the only field in college football that sits over an active fault line or the Bears embracing dogecoin as the official cryptocurrency of Cal Athletics. It does represent another revenue stream for the Bears, who have suffered a big revenue loss in the last year, like every other athletic department in the country.
Whether this works out or goes the same way as the Kabam deal remains to be seen, but the Bears will open their season in twelve days on FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium, facing Nevada.
RELEASE: Cal Athletics, FTX Unveil 10-Year Landmark Relationship
