Sam Bankman-Fried’s exchange company FTX is one of the companies that will have an ad featured in the February 2022 Super Bowl. The company is reported to have bought an ad slot for the event that will be held at the SoFi Stadium in California. The specifics of the deal, including the sum used to complete the deal, remain undisclosed. However, based on past figures and NBC’S current advertisement rate, the deal is estimated to have cost more than $5.5 million.
“We’re inviting everyone to check it out, and here to help them on their journey. There is no bigger, more mainstream event to share a message like that than the Super Bowl. Our message throughout this year has been that crypto is safe, accessible, and ready for the mainstream,” he said.
In his opinion, Bankman-Fried believes crypto advertisements related to sports are much more likely to be successful.
“Sports fans are 2x more likely to know about crypto than non-sports fans. Avid sports fans are nearly 3x as likely.”
Formed as a merger between the American Football League and the National Football League, the Super Bowl has been the most hyped game of the NFL season. It is the highest watched sporting event in the history of American sports and is only rivalled by the UEFA Champions League final across all sports. Commercial airtime (advertisements slots) during the event costs a lot because of the high number of viewers it pulls.
The Super Bowl LV edition attracted around 96.4 million viewers – the lowest ever viewership figure in the Super Bowl history since 2007. This was also the second time in three seasons the event failed to command 100 million viewers. Notwithstanding the average cost of a 30-second TV advertisement during the game has been above $5 million since 2016’s Super Bowl L. Over the last two editions of the game, the cost for TV advertisements was $5.6 million.
FTX has previously worked with the Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback and NFL legend Tom Brady – who recently acquired a minor stake in the exchange. Outside American Football, FTX has also made investments in other sports. In September, the company announced a partnership with Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry to serve as an FTX ambassador. It also bought the exclusive naming rights of the American Airlines Arena, which was rebranded to FTX Arena.
Yesterday, the exchange welcomed the former Boston Red Sox baseball player David Ortiz as a crypto ambassador. FTX is also the exchange of Major League Baseball following a collaboration revealed in June. FTX isn’t the only cryptocurrency exchange to venture into the sports world. Coinbase recently signed a deal with the NBA – becoming the league’s official crypto partner.