Kentucky Basketball players partnering with FTX cryptocurrency exchange

The Kentucky Basketball team just landed its biggest Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) deal yet. The players are partnering with West Realm Shires Services Inc. to be ambassadors of FTX US, a US-regulated cryptocurrency exchange. The NIL sponsorship is part of the brand’s FTX Champions program. Each Kentucky player will be compensated individually each month in USD on FTX debit cards. The players also have the individual option to create nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on the FTX NFT marketplace. Each player will receive most of the revenue on the sale of their individual NFTs. 

“We’re thrilled to work with players from one of the most successful collegiate basketball programs in the country,” said Avi Dabir, Vice President of Business Development at FTX. “Outside of the well-deserved financial compensation, we will be assisting in the student athletes’ education of digital assets so that they can make informed investment decisions as they look to enter the space.” 

Decision to partner with FTX was “unanimous”

From the start, the Kentucky Basketball team has taken a team-first approach to NIL. In July, the team announced its first joint venture, partnering with ProCampsU and KSR for various events. They also pledged a portion of any NIL earnings to charity.

“The team came together as a unit as we’ve done with all our NIL sponsorships, and it was unanimous that we wanted to partner with a brand like FTX,” Kellan Grady said. “When speaking with the organization, it became clear our values aligned and their commitment to making a positive impact in the world through charity and other initiatives resonated with us all.”

“We’re excited to come on board as a team and look forward to learning more about the world of cryptocurrency from one of the top companies in the industry,” Davion Mintz said. “In addition to a shared passion for greatness we work hard every day to be our best for our fans just like how FTX works hard for their customers.”

In addition to the NIL sponsorship, FTX will be making a donation on behalf of Kentucky’s players to a charity of their choosing at a later date.

About FTX US 

FTX US is a US-regulated cryptocurrency exchange, built from the ground up. Its mission is for FTX US to grow the digital currency ecosystem, offer US and international traders a platform that inspires their loyalty, and to become the market-leading US-regulated cryptocurrency exchange by volume within the next two years.

FTX already partners with several big names in the sports world. It is the name partner of FTX Arena, home of the Miami Heat, and crypto partner and official cryptocurrency exchange of Major League Baseball. Other FTX ambassadors include Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Trevor Lawrence, David Ortiz, and Udonis Haslem. Having Kentucky Basketball players join that list is pretty huge for both brands.