MoonPay has landed an eight-figure, three-year title sponsorship with the X Games as the long-running action-sports franchise shifts into a team-based league format. The rebranded “MoonPay X Games League” will draft 150 athletes into regionally represented clubs at a Los Angeles event in March, the companies said. The new name and partnership were unveiled in Aspen during the X Games’ final standalone competition; a MoonPay spokesperson confirmed the deal to Decrypt. The move is part of a broader overhaul of the X Games, which signaled plans to adopt a league model well over a year ago and later hired former Olympic skier and NFL player Jeremy Bloom as CEO. Bloom has framed the league around giving athletes more stability — emphasizing “salaries, benefits, and real stakes.” Under the new structure, athletes in skateboarding, BMX, snowboarding and freeskiing will receive perks beyond prize winnings, including paid travel and a health insurance stipend, and — according to a LinkedIn post — a base salary around $30,000. MoonPay’s involvement tethers the fresh-era X Games to crypto in several ways. The press release says MoonPay will hold exclusive branding rights across finance- and banking-related categories and that the partnership will help distribute decentralized finance (DeFi) projects via MoonPay’s network. The companies also point to “new team ownership opportunities” intended to increase athletes’ take-home pay; X Games has said the clubs will be privately owned. The league format borrows from established models: teams competing for points across disciplines, inspired by Formula 1’s emphasis on team standings, combined with a draft system compared to the NBA and a strategic focus likened to esports. MoonPay President Keith Grossman told Decrypt the sponsor sees strong audience overlap — he said MoonPay reaches some 35 million consumers who match the X Games demographic — and that the partnership will help introduce MoonPay’s partners and DeFi projects to the action-sports world. The deal fits a broader trend of crypto brands moving deeper into sports sponsorships. It draws echoes of Crypto.com’s $175 million, 10-year deal with the UFC and the wave of crypto-branded Super Bowl ads in 2022. Sports leagues and events have also experimented with prediction markets and NFTs — the NHL, for example, has licensed prediction platforms, and collections like Pudgy Penguins have shown up at marquee events. For the X Games, the MoonPay title sponsorship represents a high-profile way to bankroll a transition away from a prize-centric model and toward a league that promises steadier incomes and benefits for athletes. For MoonPay, it’s a bet on aligning crypto payments and DeFi distribution with an audience that skews young and engaged in fan ownership and team culture. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

#NFT