SBF Tapped Taylor Swift for a Deal, Months Before FTX Crash

• Bankman-Fried had approached Taylor Swift for a sponsorship deal before the FTX crash.
• The sponsorship deal was estimated to be worth more than $100 million. 
• Taylor Swift backed out from the deal, months before FTX’s bankruptcy.

Just months before FTX’s downfall, the founder of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried had approached the famous popstar Taylor Swift, reaching the last stages of negotiating a sponsorship deal. The sponsorship deal was estimated to be worth more than $100 million. 

According to a report by Financial Times, the meeting held by Bankman-Fried focused on ticketing arrangements for NFTs based on the pop star. But, Taylor Swift backed out from the deal, months before FTX’s bankruptcy.

Highlighting the events of the meeting, sources have implied that FTX’s unorthodox internal decision-making, clashes between Bankman-Fried’s inner circle, and outsourced experienced executives were some of the possible reasons that lead to the failure of the deal.

Initially, reports have stated that Bankman-Fried and Claire Watanabe, a senior executive in FTX’s development team, had favored the deal. Sources also pinpointed that several members of the marketing team had also opposed this decision as the deal was expensive and many questioned the monetary value of celebrity deals that happened in the past.

In the end, reports have found that the FTX founder was urged to cancel the deal by senior executives including FTX US president Brett Harrison.

Moreover, reports have stated that FTX had also struck deals with US football athlete Tom Brady, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, tennis star Naomi Osaka, and NBA superstars Shaquille O’Neal and Steph Curry.

Concurrently, when FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, many investors were furious at the FTX founder and the management, including the celebrities who were associated with the crypto exchange. FTX is currently facing probe from US regulators to find the root cause that led to the crypto exchanges‘ demise.