MoonPay Inks 8-Figure Title Sponsorship Deal for Upcoming X Games League

2026-01-25 16:22:03

Source: CryptoNewsNet Original Title: MoonPay Inks 8-Figure Title Sponsorship Deal for Upcoming X Games League Original Link: X Games will share a title with crypto payments provider MoonPay as part of an eight-figure deal, as the long-running action sports spectacle transitions toward a new team-based format.

The MoonPay X Games League, which is set to draft 150 athletes to “regionally repped” clubs at a Los Angeles-based event in March, is now the product of a three-year marketing deal. The new name was unveiled in Aspen, Colorado during X Games’ final standalone event.

The X Games signaled that it was adopting a league-based format more than a year and a half ago, before appointing Jeremy Bloom as CEO. The former Olympic freestyle skier and NFL player emphasized that the team-up centers on “salaries, benefits, and real stakes.”

For athletes trying to find their footing in skateboarding, BMX, snowboarding and freeskiing, X Games’ shift comes with the promise of perks like paid travel expenses and a health insurance stipend. It marks a departure from the high-stakes competitions rooted in prize money that have historically made athletes reliant on individual sponsorships.

Keith Grossman, president of enterprise at MoonPay, stated that the partnership will provide distribution for decentralized finance projects and support for athletes. MoonPay’s exclusivity in branding across areas like finance and banking also extends to its network of partners, with “new team ownership opportunities” intended to boost take-home pay for athletes.

The format draws inspiration from Formula 1, with athletes competing for team points across various disciplines. The league will provide athletes with a base salary of $30,000, drawing parallels between the initiative and the NBA for its draft systems and esports for its focus on team strategy.

MoonPay’s arrangement is reminiscent of similar crypto-sports partnerships, such as Crypto.com’s 10-year sponsorship deal with the UFC. More recently, various sports entities have gone exclusive with prediction market platforms. As the X Games prepares to retire a decades-old format, MoonPay is positioning itself at the intersection of crypto and traditional sports, targeting audiences with considerable demographic overlap.

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