coindesk.com
David “Big Papi” Ortiz is the newest ambassador of crypto exchange FTX.
The Major League Baseball (MLB) legend, who hit over 500 home runs and brought home three World Series titles to the Boston Red Sox, has agreed to a multiyear deal with the exchange.
As part of the pact, Big Papi will be compensated in cryptocurrency through the FTX app and release multiple non-fungible token (NFT) collections, according to a press release.
FTX now has a strong lineup of athlete ambassadors, with Ortiz rounding out America’s professional sports trifecta with football’s Tom Brady and basketball’s Stephen Curry. TV commercials referencing the Ortiz deal (and mentioning Brady and Curry) began running on Tuesday night during the first game of the 2021 World Series.
FTX will also be serving as a title sponsor for the David Ortiz Celebrity Golf Classic, and contribute donations to his charity, the David Ortiz’s Children’s Fund.
The crypto exchange led by CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is growing familiar with the MLB, with its current sponsorships including patches of its logo on the league’s umpire uniforms and “Moonblasts,” where the exchange has donated $10,000 for every postseason home run hit over 425 feet.
“David is an MLB legend, known for hitting home runs to the moon and his incredible personality,” Bankman-Fried said in a press release. “Most importantly, he is dedicated and passionate about helping others, so when he wanted to get into crypto, we were incredibly excited to help him start his journey. Now the world knows that Big Papi is in.”