When the Caesars Superdome enters the global spotlight during the Super Bowl on Sunday night, it will represent a highlight moment for Caesars Entertainment Inc. and the New Orleans Saints four years into a 20-year naming rights partnership.
The hotel and casino entertainment company paid $138 million to replace Mercedes-Benz as the team’s naming rights partner in 2021—but that wasn’t the biggest offer the NFL franchise received. The largest proposed sum came from defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
The now-bankrupt company, founded by former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, made an 11th-hour offer of more than $170 million, according to Oak View Group president of global partnerships Dan Griffis, who was hired to sell the naming rights. The Saints didn’t bite.
“Companies who come out of nowhere and spend that kind of money don’t exist,” Griffis said in a video interview. “They’re fairy tales.”
During the negotiation process, FTX tried to ease perceived hesitancy by offering to deposit funds into an escrow account in case it defaulted on payments, Griffis said. OVG’s global partnership division later presented both offers from Caesars and FTX to Saints CEO Gayle Benson, who inherited control of the NFL team as well as the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans when her husband Tom died in 2018. Benson decided on Caesars after quick deliberation with partners and confidants.
The Saints control naming rights negotiations as part of a lease extension they signed with the state of Louisiana in 2009, and they decided to leave an extra 30% on the table despite embarking on a $550 million renovation.
“It was a no-brainer,” Griffis said. “We’ve seen some of these fly-by-night companies come through sports and entertainment and throw a bunch of money around. … That’s why I’ve always respected the Saints and Mrs. Benson. Their moral compass is on point.”
FTX collapsed in 2022. The Bahamas-based company, once valued at $32 billion, ultimately fell apart due to severe mismanagement of funds, lack of liquidity and an array of compliance failures. The crash left thousands of people with significant financial losses. Bankman-Fried has since been sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $11 billion in assets.
While the Saints dodged the FTX disaster, Miami-Dade County and the Miami Heat dealt with the aftermath of the cryptocurrency platform’s downfall. FTX had inked a 19-year deal with the county to own the NBA arena’s naming rights. The county, which owns the venue, had its $135 million contract with FTX terminated by a federal judge.
The Heat’s arena has since been renamed the Kaseya Center after software company Kayesa Limited. The parties are in the early stages of a 17-year deal signed in 2023.
The Miami-FTX mishap followed several other infamous name removals from sports-related venues that were forced by company downturns. The Houston Astros’ ballpark, for example, was previously named Enron Field, but the name was removed following Enron Corp.’s famous bankruptcy in 2001. It is now named Daikin Park.
“There can be worry about certain brands or categories,” said Jeff Nelson, the president of sports consulting firm Navigate, who works with teams to evaluate sponsorship deals. “Will this still be here when the term of this deal ends? What’s the reputational risk?”
When FTX collapsed, many of the most prominent cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, fell sharply in value.
Recently, though, cryptocurrency has surged to record highs. The second Donald Trump presidential administration has signaled a pro-crypto regulatory stance, boosting hopes for the market in the coming years and opening the door for a new round of potential bumper sponsorship agreements with major industry players.
The Saints will not be part of those talks, of course. They chose Caesars as their Superdome naming rights partner for the long-term future. That agreement will be front and center at the Super Bowl on Sunday.
