Jorge Mas shares details on XBTO jersey sponsorship deal, says more partnerships to come
The Inter Miami co-owner talked about the team's first jersey sponsorship agreement with crypto company XBTO at a festive announcement at Drv Pnk Stadium
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Amid all the fan fervor and overall excitement inside the swanky northwest corner of Inter Miami’s stadium, team co-owner Jorge Mas belted out a bold proclamation on Wednesday by saying the next thing that gets raised at the venue is an MLS Cup.
Being lifted and showcased in the moment: the team jerseys with a much-anticipated major sponsor on them.
Inter Miami announced earlier this week that it had agreed to the first game jersey sponsorship deal in franchise history with crypto company XBTO, confirming Miami Total Futbol’s reporting from Tuesday.
The deal that is “potentially” for four years and worth a reported $4-5 million ended a search and wait for a corporate partner that stretched out over multiple years. It the first of its kind in MLS given that no other franchise has had a pact with a business in the crypto industry, and the new-look jerseys will be debuted on Friday night vs. the New York Red Bulls.
“We at Inter Miami have always looked at doing things that are innovative, things that are cutting edge,” said Mas on the second floor of the festive northwest club at Drv Pnk Stadium. “We have always aspired to be a global brand and a global team. XBTO has a global reach, but it is really about Miami and South Florida. They are a Miami company now. They moved from New York.”
Mas added that the deal between Inter Miami and XBTO came together over the last five months. He stated that the team was approached by firms “in many other spaces” about sponsoring the jersey, but that his organization chose the crypto company because they “think alike.”
A question many people had in the wake of the announcement was what exactly does XBTO — a company with a modest Twitter following that is just north of 1,000 people — do? Mas provided some clarity.
“I think the No. 1 thing is that XBTO is not a currency — it is not Bitcoin, it is not Ethereum or Solana — but it is a platform that makes the crypto currencies trade and exchange,” said Mas. “Regardless of the currency that is up, that is down, that is more popular, XBTO is not going anywhere. They are an extremely important platform that then can continuing growing the crypto spaces.
“Crypto is going to be well beyond what I think we just see now, which are currencies. This is going to be well beyond that. I think the applications of how we interact in our daily lives is going to change completely in the next five years and I think XBTO is going to be an essential element of doing that.”
What that all means for fans outside of being able to see and buy Inter Miami jerseys with a company’s branding on it is that there will be more initiatives that Mas stated will enhance the in-game experience. He did not go into too many details as to what they were, but said an app will be created and that some ideas could be unfolded as soon as November but more likely at the start of the 2022 season.
The Miami native added that the revenue generated from the deal will also help Inter Miami to continue to invest in the “best players that can be brought to the roster,” and that the team is still in talks over a sponsorship deal for branding on the sleeve of the kits and a naming-rights pact for the training facility.
“We have a lot of enterprises that want to associate themselves with Inter Miami,” said Mas in Spanish. “… We are in negotiations with many (businesses), but I think in the next 30-60 days you will see us complete the major sponsorships that we have available.”