FTX’s Esports Deal Is Basically Valued Less than Initially Believed

FTX’s Esports deal is basically valued less than it was initially believed because the TSM FTX branding cannot be used in a League of Legends as per the activation restrictions so let’s find out more in our latest cryptocurrency news today.

FTX is paying $210 million in 10 years for naming rights for popular esports organization Team SoloMid but the team cannot use the TSM FTX branding within the game League of Legends or VALORANT because of Riot Games restrictions. The crypto exchange FTX’s Esports deal turns out to be less valuable than it really is and since the initial news broke, the new wrinkle emerged and makes the deal less valuable than it seems on the surface.

TSM will not be able to use the FTX branding in its name of jerseys when it will compete in two games made by Riot Games which are strategy game League of Legends and Squad-based shooter Valorant with the teams League of Legends Championship Series squad is the best known and visible team out there. Dot Esports reported initially and noted that Riot Games has restrictions on how the teams can activate their crypto exchange sponsorships during the official competitions with the detail not communicating well in the original announcement. The Head of Esports for North America and Oceania Chris Greeley said:

“The TSM and FTX sponsorship deal does not break any LCS sponsorship rules, but crypto exchanges fall under a category of sponsorship that carries activation restrictions. As a result, TSM’s new naming convention and FTX brand placement on TSM jerseys will not apply to the LCS or other Riot Games esports in North America.”

The inability to use the TSM FTX branding takes away what was initially seemed to be the crown jewels of the long-term alliance. League of Legends is now the most popular international esport with regional franchised leagues and sponsors like Mastercard, Honda, and State Farm. A TSM representative said that the limitations for League of Legends and Valorant were accounted for in the deal and that the team plans to activate the FTX sponsorship on social media. TSM Founder and CEO Andy Reginald Dinh said:

“The deal carves out name on broadcast and jersey logo on both League and VALORANT. But FTX will still be sponsoring our League and VALORANT players in content, social, live-streaming and in-person events. Which has more visibility than Riot’s broadcast.”