Crypto.com goes big on AFLW and AFL with $25M sponsor deal
Cryptocurrency marketplace exchange, Crypto.com has penned a major sponsorship deal with the AFLW and AFL, with the deal set to be worth up to $25 million over five years, according to The Australian.
The deal, making it the Official Cryptocurrency Exchange and Official Cryptocurrency Trading Platform of both the AFL and AFLW competitions makes it one of the most lucrative sporting deals in the country.
The Signapore based marketplace will now be the exclusive naming rights partner for the ‘Crypto.com AFL Score Review’, across all Toyota AFL season and Final Series matches.
The $25 million figure stacks up as one of the largest major sponsorship deals. This is dwarfed still by the league’s naming rights deal with Toyota, worth $18.5 annually, extended in 2019 for a total of $74 million through to 2023.
The Australian Open’s partnership with Kia is also worth a reported $85 million across five years.
This compares to the $18.5m value of the AFL’s existing major sponsorship with Toyota and the Australian Open’s major partner Kia, which is worth $85m over five years.
Gillon McLachlan, chief executive of the AFL said he was delighted to partner with the company in a “dynamic and emerging industry”, in a deal that puts it at the forefront of the industry’s growth in Australia.
AFL executive general manager customer and commercial Kylie Rogers said: “Crypto.com has partnered with a number of elite sporting codes across the world and the AFL is proud to be the first Australian sports league and elite women’s competition globally to work alongside an organisation that shares our passion to progress the future of elite sport and technology.”
The AFL extended its naming rights deal with Toyota in 2019
Rogers continued that the partnership “marks one of the most significant corporate partner deals since the COVID-19 pandemic”, which she remarked will help” strengthen our industry as we continue to recover and rebuild key growth areas our game”.
Crypto.com has invested heavily in sporting codes and leagues globally as it continues to expand. This has included deals with Formula 1, UFC, Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, Philadelphia 76ers (NBA), Montreal Canadiens (NHL), and recently being awarded the naming rights for Los Angeles stadium Staples Center, now to be known as the Crypto.com Arena.
Co-founder and CEO of the exchange, Kris Marszalek said that partnering with the men’s and women’s competitions provided a great opportunity to expand the brand into an already strong crypto market.
“We are committed to investing in Australia, a key market and leader in cryptocurrency adoption contributing to our rapid growth of over 10 million users globally. The AFL and AFLW are perfect platforms to associate ourselves with Australian sports and culture. It is by far the most popular spectator sport in the country that has been played for over 150 years, a rich history that uniquely brings Australians together in a way that we are truly inspired by.”
Part of the significant investment with the AFLW comes after consumer research by Crypto.com stating that 53% of investors in the Australian market are female.
General manager Asia & Pacific, Karl Mohan said: “It is very encouraging to see that Australians from all walks of life, irrespective of gender or background, are very keen to adopt cryptocurrencies, and we’re excited about being their go-to platform.”
“The AFL has led the way to bring gender diversity to Australian sport and we believe this partnership will resonate well with all footy fans across the country.”
“We couldn’t be happier with the timing of this partnership at a moment when more Australians are engaging with cryptocurrency and the Australian Government is taking steps to put necessary regulations in place to protect consumers while fostering innovation,” Mohan continued.
Both finalists of last year’s men’s competition, the Western Bulldogs and the Melbourne Demons signed deals in the cryptocurrency space last year.
As reported in the Summer Shorts this month, Crypto.com has recently had two ads banned as misleading by the UK’s advertising regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority, according to Coindesk.
The Financial Times recently reported that Crypto.com’s widely criticised and “tone-deaf” global campaign ‘Fortune favours the brave’ featuring Matt Damon, cost a reported $100 million in total to produce.
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Calum Jaspan was news editor at Mumbrella, based in Melbourne. He was also the producer and host of the Mumbrellacast. He left Mumbrella in May 2023.
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