The NFL Draft’s presumptive No. 1 overall pick adds to his growing list of endorsements with FTX’s crypto portfolio brand.
Trevor Lawrence is the odds-on favorite to be the first player taken in this weekend’s NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, before hearing his name called on the big stage, the former Clemson Tigers quarterback and national champion is already making serious business moves.
On the heels of announcing partnerships with big-time brands like Gatorade and Adidas, Lawrence signed a multi-year deal with crypto portfolio tracking brand Blockfolio.
For Lawrence, this partnership is more than simply transactional. Although the specifics of the deal have not been disclosed, Blockfolio announced that the QB’s team negotiated a signing bonus to be paid out exclusively in cryptocurrency, signifying Lawrence’s literal and figurative investment in the space.
The Action Network’s Darren Rovell reported that Lawrence received his payout on Friday night, and that his portfolio includes a combination of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The Clemson icon is already seeing his decision pay off, with an approximate 10% value increase over the weekend alone, Rovell, notes.
In addition to the base deal and bonus, Lawrence and Blockfolio’s parent company, FTX, will announce a $100,000 joint philanthropic donation following the NFL Draft, which hosts its first round Thursday night in prime time.
The news is the most recent in a series of formal partnerships demonstrating that the sporting world is betting on blockchain. FTX signed a 19-year naming rights deal with the Miami Heat for their home arena. Elsewhere, the Montreal Canadiens brokered a sponsorship with Crypto.com, and Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks announced that they will accept Dogecoin for merchandise and other retail transactions.
Each of these deals is groundbreaking in its own right, and signals the increasing visibility and liquidity of cryptocurrency in the global market. FTX COO Sina Nader told Decrypt that their partnership with Lawrence “speaks to increasing awareness and mindshare when it comes to what people are aware of in finance.”
“Once you start to see names like Trevor Lawrence, and prominent people in entertainment, the taboo is officially shattered. People are realizing that crypto is a real thing,” he said.
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As upstart names in the North American crypto market, FTX and Blockfolio are eager for Lawrence to help them build brand recognition. “We want people to have heard of us and trust us, so that when they’re ready to think about crypto, they think of us,” Nader said.
With the promise of NFL millions and a growing legacy now just days away, Trevor Lawrence is poised to play a major role in making Blockfolio into a name that cannot be ignored — much like his own.
