The sports industry took a hard hit from the coronavirus pandemic. Most leagues got suspended, and then teams played without the audience for an extended period. Sports clubs started to seek out new revenue streams, and the crypto industry arrived to aid with juicy deals. Numerous partnerships between major sports clubs grabbed headlines over the last year. Even national teams and major club unions joined the trend. So, it became even more surprising when FC Barcelona and Manchester City, two of the biggest soccer clubs in Europe, terminated their crypto-related sponsorship deals in the same week. FC Barcelona canceled its …

The team behind the Floki Inu (FLOKI) token — inspired by Elon Musk’s pet dog of the same name — has signed a sponsorship deal with Italian football giant S.S.C. Napoli. S.S.C Napoli was founded in 1926 and is one of the most popular professional teams in Italy. The historic club won its first Serie A title in 1987 led by the late global football icon Diego Maradona, and is currently sitting at first place in the league for the 2021-2022 season. Here is SSC Napoli's official tweet about the partnership with #FLOKI. Go and show them love, Vikings! https://t.co/cSfZxvkUCc …

SAND, the native token of the Sandbox — a blockchain-based gaming platform owned by Animoca Brands, inched higher on Tuesday, building on its gains made all across November, to reach another record high. SAND token price rose to $5.64 after swelling 16.25% intraday but retraced some of those gains to trade at $5.54 at the press time. The move took the Sandbox token's month-to-date (MTD) and year-to-date (YTD) gains to nearly 260% and over 14,700%, respectively, with its market capitalization crossing above $5 billion, making it the 41st-largest coin in the sector. Many catalysts behind the SAND price rally This …

Odell Beckham Jr., wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams football team, has said he will be taking all of his $4.25 million National Football League salary in Bitcoin. In a Nov. 22 post to his Twitter account, Beckham said he would be partnering with Cash App to take his next NFL salary in Bitcoin (BTC). National Insider reporter Ian Rapoport said earlier this month that Beckham would be earning a $750,000 base salary on top of a $500,000 signing bonus in addition to $3 million in other incentives, totaling $4.25 million for the 2021 season. It's a NEW ERA …

Crypto.com's native cryptocurrency CRO hit an all-time high of $0.593 on Nov. 18 after the company won the naming rights to Los Angeles's Staples Center. The cryptocurrency trading platform announced Tuesday night that it had paid $700 million to the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) to rename Staples Center to Crypto.com for the next twenty years. In doing so, it gained links with the downtown arena's native sports franchises, including NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, and National Hockey League's Kings franchise. The deal should boost Crypto.com's public awareness, and this prompted traders to raise their bids for CRO, an intermediary settlement …

Residents of Los Angeles, sports fans, and social media personalities are making light of Crypto.com’s agreement to rename the city’s Staples Center for its own marketing purposes. The Staples Center, a multi-purpose arena that has been home to the Los Angeles Clippers, Lakers and other major sports franchises for years, is scheduled to be renamed as the Crypto.com Arena starting on Dec. 25. This follows a $700 million agreement with the platform to hold the naming rights for 20 years. However, since its opening in 1999, the venue has always been called the Staples Center, and fans don’t seem to …

Australian baseball club Perth Heat has announced a partnership with Bitcoin payment processor OpenNode to accept and make payments in Bitcoin (BTC). The partnership allows Perth Heat to pay professional players and staff in Bitcoin. According to the announcement, the professional sports club will send and receive payments in Bitcoin over the Lightning Network. In addition, the partnership with OpenNode allows the Perth Heat organization to accept Bitcoin payments for sponsorships, merchandise and other revenue streams. Taking things a step further, Perth Heat has also rebranded itself to be called “the Bitcoin baseball team.” The club has also listed Bitcoin-branded …

The New York Digital Investment Group will be paying the National Basketball Association’s Houston Rockets franchise in Bitcoin as part of a partnership aimed at promoting crypto education and adoption. In a Nov. 16 announcement, the Houston Rockets said the New York Digital Investment Group, or NYDIG, would become the team’s official Bitcoin (BTC) services partner and platform. As part of the partnership, NYDIG is planning to name some of the Rockets’ premium seating at the Toyota Center in Houston the ‘Bitcoin Suites.’ The deal with the NYDIG seems to be part of a larger strategy for Rockets owner Tilman …

This year has seen a number of high profile partnerships formed between the cryptocurrency sector and major sports leagues, teams and individual players. Nowadays players engage with their fans by issuing limited edition NFTs and other perks that are associated with crypto and blockchain technology. Crypto companies are also making their presence known stitching their names on jerseys, buying stadium naming rights and paying for cleverly placed primetime commercials between game breaks. One project that has seen a recent surge in interest thanks to its focus in the world of sports and helping fans interact with their favorite teams and …

The FC Barcelona soccer club has partnered with Ownix to debut the launch of its nonfungible token, or NFT, collection focused on enhancing the connection to its global audience. The series will showcase historic moments from the club’s 122-year history, one that includes an illustrious trophy display of 95 domestic and international triumphs, including 26 national league and five UEFA Champions League titles, according to archive data from Wikipedia. The digital assets will be facilitated through Ownix's marketplace, and is expected to launch in the final week of November utilizing the platform’s native ERC-20 token ONX. Cointelegraph spoke to Guy …

Sports footwear and apparel manufacturer Nike is exploring the design of virtual materials featuring its iconic logo and slogan. According to Oct. 27 records at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Nike has filed applications for its namesake, swoosh logo, and "just do it" slogan to be used in virtual goods for its entertainment services, retail stores, and "for use online and in online virtual worlds." The filings, along with two recent job postings for virtual material designers, suggest the company is laying the groundwork for Nike-branded products in the metaverse. Nike said the prospective employees would “play a key …

Aaron Rodgers, quarterback for the Green Bay Packers football team, has said he will be taking part of his National Football League salary in Bitcoin. In a video posted to his Twitter account on Nov. 1, Rodgers — dressed as fictional character John Wick, likely for Halloween — said he would be partnering with Cash App to take a portion of his salary in Bitcoin (BTC). The NFL reported in July that Rodgers would be earning a $1.1 million base salary on top of a $14.5 million signing bonus and a $6.8 million roster bonus from March, totaling roughly $22.3 …