Summary
- Ripple has established a sports marketing partnership with the University of Kansas, designating XRP as the official cryptocurrency for Kansas Athletics.
- The XRP logo will be prominently displayed on all athletic team jerseys at the university.
- Additionally, Ripple will support educational initiatives regarding traditional finance and digital assets for student-athletes.
Ripple, the company behind the XRP cryptocurrency, has secured a multi-year sponsorship agreement with the University of Kansas Athletics, which will feature the XRP logo on the jerseys of all Kansas sports teams.
As part of this arrangement, XRP is now recognized as the official cryptocurrency of Kansas Athletics.
Travis Goff, the Director of Athletics at the University of Kansas, remarked, “This era of college athletics demands innovative, forward-thinking partnerships.”
He added, “Ripple recognizes the unique reach and passion of the Jayhawk community, and we're proud they have chosen Kansas Athletics as a premier platform to introduce XRP to millions of sports fans.”
In addition to jersey branding, Ripple will also fund programs aimed at educating Kansas student-athletes on traditional finance and digital assets, while also working to connect graduates with careers in technology.
Bill Self, the Kansas Men’s Basketball Coach, said, “It's a critical time in college athletics to be bold, and that's what is being accomplished with today's announcement. We will make sure our guys understand the significance of the partnership and why it is beneficial for them moving forward.”
This collaboration also reconnects Ripple President Brad Garlinghouse with the university, as he is an alumnus who has previously referred to watching Jayhawk games as a “guilty pleasure.”
The cryptocurrency sector has had a mixed and sometimes contentious history with sponsorships in sports.
FTX, the crypto exchange that collapsed and whose founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud, had purchased the naming rights for the arena of the Miami Heat NBA team in 2021, only to see the FTX branding removed less than two years later. Similarly, Terra, another failed crypto network whose founder is imprisoned, had a five-year sponsorship deal with the Washington Nationals in 2022, and its logo still remains at the stadium.
However, crypto firms have recently resumed entering the sports marketing arena, with Coinbase, a leading U.S.-based exchange, maintaining a long-term sponsorship with the NBA. Last June, Ledger, a digital asset security company from Paris, also secured a sponsorship with the San Antonio Spurs, which prominently featured the Ledger logo on the team’s jerseys and court throughout the NBA season.
While Ripple's marketing efforts may take time to positively influence XRP's market presence, the cryptocurrency's price fell approximately 4.2% today, maintaining a position within the top six digital assets with a market capitalization of $67 billion. XRP reached an all-time high of $3.65 last year but has since decreased nearly 71%, trading at around $1.07.