⚡ The FTX lawn, handed over to an AI company four years later
Last night, a 50-yard-line logo appeared at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California, and the field is officially renamed Databricks Field. Four years ago, the same patch of turf was called FTX Field.
On September 24, Cal Athletics and its business partner Learfield announced a multi-year agreement with Databricks. Cal’s own press release was packed with superlatives, saying it was the largest sponsorship in the school’s history. The terms were not disclosed, but Fox Sports’ Ben Portnoy reported it as the longest deal—up to 10 years, worth as much as $22.8 million. Spread across 10 years, that’s $2.28 million per year.
The money doesn’t come in cash. Cal’s announcement said the deal was funded by making the University of California, Berkeley a Databricks shareholder through the school. Databricks began in 2013 in a room in Berkeley’s Soda Hall. Apache Spark was one of the products of that research. Of the seven co-founders, two still teach at Berkeley today. Forbes’ valuation put the company at $190 billion. What the school receives is equity—no cash at all.
Now look at the previous contract side by side. In August 2021, FTX paid $17.5 million for 10-year naming rights to that field—$1.75 million per year. It was billed as the first crypto naming deal in collegiate history, with Learfield collecting the payments in full. 450 days later, FTX filed for bankruptcy, the name was scrubbed off the turf, and the remaining more than eight years of the contract became void. Then-Cal lecturer Nicholas Weaver estimated that the school actually ended up with about $1.7 million, while what it “paid” was its reputation. That was his estimate at the time—without accounting for any numbers.
The turf sat empty for nearly four seasons starting in November 2022. It’s back. The price has gone up by roughly 30%.
Even in the same business, not all the crypto money walked away. On July 17, Texas Tech sold stadium naming rights to Galaxy for 15 years at $75 million, or $5 million per year. The announcement says it’s a data center infrastructure and digital asset company, publicly traded on the Nasdaq. In the same season, on the same kind of signage, the unit price is more than double Cal’s. The money didn’t go far.
On October 3, at UNLV, the Databricks logo will still be on Cal’s helmets. The announcement says this is the ACC’s first helmet naming deal. The sponsorships keep going deeper.
The on-field results haven’t matched the deal. Last night, Clemson beat Berkeley 24–10. They lost in their debut.
Bitcoin has nothing to do with this business. When I wrote this, five bid sources ranged from 84,159 to 84,172; over 24 hours, it was down 0.6%. ETH was 2,688 to 2,690, down 1.1%.
What matters is when the money hits the books. The cash hasn’t landed yet. Cal’s 2024–25 fiscal-year deficit exceeds $24 million, and this money is meant to plug the gap first. But what it got is shares in a private company with no market quote—if it wants to turn that into money, it has to wait for an IPO or an acquisition. Four years ago, the crypto contract that was mocked brought in coins that could be converted to cash immediately.
The name has changed. A field’s name—swapped from coins to equity. The sign is still that same sign; this time, what it’s worth isn’t a number on a price tag, but whether it can turn into paychecks.
$BTC $ETH
#中本聪国际社区Baoluo币商资本 #加密货币 #FTX
Last night, a 50-yard-line logo appeared at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California, and the field is officially renamed Databricks Field. Four years ago, the same patch of turf was called FTX Field.
On September 24, Cal Athletics and its business partner Learfield announced a multi-year agreement with Databricks. Cal’s own press release was packed with superlatives, saying it was the largest sponsorship in the school’s history. The terms were not disclosed, but Fox Sports’ Ben Portnoy reported it as the longest deal—up to 10 years, worth as much as $22.8 million. Spread across 10 years, that’s $2.28 million per year.
The money doesn’t come in cash. Cal’s announcement said the deal was funded by making the University of California, Berkeley a Databricks shareholder through the school. Databricks began in 2013 in a room in Berkeley’s Soda Hall. Apache Spark was one of the products of that research. Of the seven co-founders, two still teach at Berkeley today. Forbes’ valuation put the company at $190 billion. What the school receives is equity—no cash at all.
Now look at the previous contract side by side. In August 2021, FTX paid $17.5 million for 10-year naming rights to that field—$1.75 million per year. It was billed as the first crypto naming deal in collegiate history, with Learfield collecting the payments in full. 450 days later, FTX filed for bankruptcy, the name was scrubbed off the turf, and the remaining more than eight years of the contract became void. Then-Cal lecturer Nicholas Weaver estimated that the school actually ended up with about $1.7 million, while what it “paid” was its reputation. That was his estimate at the time—without accounting for any numbers.
The turf sat empty for nearly four seasons starting in November 2022. It’s back. The price has gone up by roughly 30%.
Even in the same business, not all the crypto money walked away. On July 17, Texas Tech sold stadium naming rights to Galaxy for 15 years at $75 million, or $5 million per year. The announcement says it’s a data center infrastructure and digital asset company, publicly traded on the Nasdaq. In the same season, on the same kind of signage, the unit price is more than double Cal’s. The money didn’t go far.
On October 3, at UNLV, the Databricks logo will still be on Cal’s helmets. The announcement says this is the ACC’s first helmet naming deal. The sponsorships keep going deeper.
The on-field results haven’t matched the deal. Last night, Clemson beat Berkeley 24–10. They lost in their debut.
Bitcoin has nothing to do with this business. When I wrote this, five bid sources ranged from 84,159 to 84,172; over 24 hours, it was down 0.6%. ETH was 2,688 to 2,690, down 1.1%.
What matters is when the money hits the books. The cash hasn’t landed yet. Cal’s 2024–25 fiscal-year deficit exceeds $24 million, and this money is meant to plug the gap first. But what it got is shares in a private company with no market quote—if it wants to turn that into money, it has to wait for an IPO or an acquisition. Four years ago, the crypto contract that was mocked brought in coins that could be converted to cash immediately.
The name has changed. A field’s name—swapped from coins to equity. The sign is still that same sign; this time, what it’s worth isn’t a number on a price tag, but whether it can turn into paychecks.
$BTC $ETH
#中本聪国际社区Baoluo币商资本 #加密货币 #FTX
