Riot Wants Out Of The FTX Sponsorship Deal And They’re Going To Court To Make It Happen

Riot Games is ready to get out of its LCS branding deal with failed crypto company FTX. According to reports, the company filed a motion to end their 7-year deal with the company – a deal that was signed not all that long ago, in August. Before anti-crypto folks get too excited, this isn’t because Riot’s changed their mind on the technology. Instead, it’s because FTX is currently in the process of filing for bankruptcy. As the company still owed Riot half of the promised payment for this year alone ($6.25M) and another $12.875M is coming due January 2, 2023, one can see where FTX’s bankruptcy might be an issue.

The news comes via Molly White, who spotted the filing and shared it on Twitter. Snippets of the document can be read in her thread, along with an explanation as to what the game developer’s argument is. A link to the entire motion filed with the court handling the bankruptcy proceedings is available there as well. Some of the things pointed out by White are that Riot feels FTX is “harming their image and reputation” even noting the FTX owner Bankman-Fried played League of Legends during meetings instead of dealing with FTX’s issues. Another section pointed out that while the company once believed this was “relatable and human” they now feel it’s “reckless and juvenile”.

Riot Games just filed a motion in the FTX bankruptcy case to end their deal, pertaining to the League of Legends Championship series.

FTX still owes $6.25M (about half the payment) for 2022 and will owe $12.875M for 2023. Per the agreement, the payments escalate through 2028.

— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) December 17, 2022

For those hoping this might mean the end of Riot’s dabbling in crypto, this is apparently not the case. Rather, Riot is looking to get out of the deal as it’s preventing them from making deals with other crypto sponsors. As the current deal was intended to last seven years, the total Riot would have expected to receive from FTX over time was approximately $96M. That’s a lot of money for Riot not to receive and still be stuck with FTX branding at their LCS events. That said, it's not always a good idea to start a new relationship immediately after exiting a bad one. Something for Riot to consider.