FTX Wants to Retrieve Money Paid to Shaquille O’Neal, Naomi Osaka: Report

The now bankrupt crypto exchange, which actually has intentions to restart operations at some point, reportedly wants to retrieve some of the money it paid to professional athletes and teams that used to promote it.

Some of those names, according to Bloomberg, include Shaquille O’Neal and Naomi Osaka, but Tom Brady has not been mentioned.

• During its peak in 2021, FTX was on a roll, striking massive deals to acquire the naming rights of arenas, as well as being promoted by numerous celebrities and professional athletes. Of course, the exchange had to pay for those.
• Some of the most notable names include Shaquille O’Neal, Steph Curry, and Naomi Osaka. Tom Brady had a different approach, as he and his former wife actually took an equity stake in the exchange.
• The loud and rapid collapse of FTX in late 2022, however, changed everything not only for the company, its founders, and employees but also for the aforementioned celebrities. Some even found themselves served in class action lawsuits.
• FTX’s new execs, under CEO John J. Ray III, initiated several tactics on how to redeem some of the money the firm owed to its thousands of creditors, while the founder – SBF – believed to be the main culprit behind the collapse, awaits his trial.
• According to a Bloomberg report, FTX Group now wants to get some of the funds paid to O’Neal, Osaka, and others for their promotions over the years.
• The company’s hired financial advisors are reviewing whether those payments can be recovered in Chapter 11. Court documents show that the exchange described them as “prepayments related to advertising or sponsorship deals.”

“The crypto platform disclosed roughly $4.9 million disbursed to MLB, which for a time required umpires to wear patches bearing FTX’s logo, and at least $12.2 million related to partnership agreements with Formula 1 racing team Mercedes-AMG Petronas. The platform disclosed $3.4 million in payments to the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and nearly $242,000 in payments to star player Stephen Curry’s business, SC30 Inc.” – reads the report.