On Saturday, esports organization TSM issued a statement to address the ongoing situation with its naming sponsor FTX, who filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection under the U.S. Code in the bankruptcy court in the District of Delaware earlier this month.
On Wednesday morning, TSM issued a new statement announcing that it has suspended the 10-year, $210M USD naming rights deal it signed with FTX in 2021. The company said in its statement that it will remove all mention of FTX from jerseys and social media, though recent changes at Twitter (which it did not name in its statement directly) may make implementing those changes a challenge. The privately owned company reiterated that it will be profitable this year and next year and that plans to hit that profitability mark were put in motion well before the FTX implosion.
Statement in full:
After monitoring the evolving situation and discussing internally, we’re suspending our partnership with FTX effective immediately. This means that FTX branding will no longer appear on any of our org, team and player social media profiles, and will also be removed from our player jerseys. The process may take some time to complete as some social platforms have made changes to their product features.
TSM is a strong, profitable and stable organization. We forecast profitability this year, next year and beyond. The current situation with FTX does not affect any part of TSM’s operating plan, which was set earlier this year.
TSM joins other FTX partners including Miami Dade County commissioners/Miami Heat management (who had a 10-year deal for the naming rights to its home venue in Miami) and Brazilian esports organization FURIA (who signed a one year sponsorship deal worth $3.2M in Q1) who announced last weekend that they are terminating their partnerships with the crypto exchange and moving on.
For a more in-depth rundown of the ongoing FTX situation, check out previous reporting here.