OFF THE WALL

What happens if crypto sponsor strikes out?

Last week, the Washington Nationals posted a tweet that read: “Crypto 101. You have questions. We’ve got answers.”

An accompanying video included frequently asked questions and answers about cryptocurrency, over a baseball highlight reel. One big problem, though, was that cryptocurrency was in free fall, spurred by the collapse of Terra, the sponsor of the social media posts and the Nationals’ most visible brand partner in 2022, according to The Washington Post.

Fans quickly expressed anger with their favorite team pushing a plummeting cryptocurrency to its Twitter following of more than 780,000. The tweet was scheduled in advance, according to multiple people inside the organization, who also said that Terra’s collapse is stirring tension about how to proceed with the partnership.

The Nationals signed a fiveyear, $38.15 million deal this winter to promote Terra and received all the money up front. The internal debate, according to multiple people with knowledge of the discussions, is centered on whether the organization should honor its agreement with Terra and keep the company’s name on its luxury club behind home plate, where “Terra” is stripped across every seat, and elsewhere in the stadium.

The terms of the Nationals’ contract with Terra include naming rights to its premier club, signage around Nationals Park, big-screen advertisements and continued promotion on the Nationals’ official social media accounts. In announcing what they called a “groundbreaking partnership” with Terra in February, the Nationals said Terra “has experienced a meteoric rise as a market leader through its blockchain and Defi (decentralized finance) ecosystem.” The team called itself “leading innovator in Major League Baseball.”

But that was when Terrausd was trading at $1. By Friday, it had fallen to less than seven cents, in what crypto market analysts call an irreversible implosion. A Nats spokeswoman, whose owners are exploring a sale, declined to comment on the partnership or the ill-timed tweet. Terra did not respond to a request for comment.

Trivia question

On this date in 1994, the NFL voted to add two expansion teams. What teams started play the next season?

They said it

• From Dwight Perry of The Seattle Times: “The Event Horizon Telescope has captured a historic first image of Sagittarius

A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. But still no sign of the Suns from Game 7.”

• From Vancouver Giants coach Michael Dyck, to Kamloops This Week, on why he wouldn’t criticize the officiating after a 4-2 Western Hockey League playoff loss: “With the price of gas these days, I can’t waste money on fines.”

• From Giants receiver Darius Slayton, via Twitter, on the scariest curse in sports history: “Dating a Khardashian.”

• From Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News, on Tom Brady’s 10-year, $375M TV contract awaiting when he retires: “I really was genuinely happy for Touchdown Tom, though, when I heard about the Fox deal. Finally, the guy catches a break.”

Trivia answer

The Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars.