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Riot Games has taken legal action to end its partnership with cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The organization filed a series of court documents with the United States Bankruptcy Court requesting the termination of the seven-year partnership, which has been in place for only one year.
Riot Games stated irreparable damage to its reputation as its reason for terminating the partnership, owing to the negative stories surrounding FTX and its filing for bankruptcy.
“There is simply no way for FTX to cure the reputational harm already caused to Riot as a result of the highly public disrepute wrought by the debacle preceding FTX’s bankruptcy filing,” Riot says in the court documents.
“FTX cannot turn back the clock and undo the damage inflicted on Riot in the wake of its collapse.”
News of the motion was made public by independent cryptocurrency writer and reporter, Molly White.
“Riot Games just filed a motion in the FTX bankruptcy case to end their deal, pertaining to the League of Legends Championship series,” White said.
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
Last summer, Riot and FTX teamed up when Riot, the developer of League of Legends, selected FTX as the official cryptocurrency sponsor for the LCS, their most profitable North American esports league. However, the partnership was doomed to fail when FTX filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
The court document stated that FTX owed Riot $12.5 million for the 2022 calendar year and has paid Riot $6.25 million, which is half of the total amount owed for the year.
However, as agreed upon, FTX will owe Riot even more money in the following year, with the first payment being due on January 3, 2023.
Riot and FTX were planning to continue their partnership until the 2028 season, with payments to Riot increasing annually. It is estimated that the partnership would have resulted in Riot earning approximately $96 million, according to a statement by the cryptocurrency researcher and writer.
“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,” White continued.
“It looks like the total deal amount for 2022–2028 was around $96M.”
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, was arrested in The Bahamas earlier this week. In its legal motion, Riot claims that the connection between the company, the LCS, and the League of Legends game to Bankman-Fried has a negative impact on all of Riot’s brands.
The motion also states that Bankman-Fried has demonstrated recklessness and immaturity, particularly with the allegations that he was playing League games while FTX was experiencing financial problems.
According to Riot, their reputation is closely tied to FTX and Bankman-Fried, especially due to the founder’s passion for League of Legends.
“The reputational harm inflicted upon Riot cannot be undone,” The motion read.
“FTX cannot go back in time and put in place corporate controls for the safekeeping of customer funds that have in the public eye now been absconded.”
FTX sponsored a team called TSM in the LCS, but TSM was not allowed to use FTX branding in League of Legends events due to Riot’s rules on prohibited sponsorships, which include crypto partnerships.
Despite this, TSM did use FTX branding in other esports ventures. However, TSM and FTX ended their partnership on Nov. 16, just 17 months into their 10-year agreement.
A hearing date has been set for January 11, 2023, for Riot’s motion to terminate the agreement with FTX.
