MoonPay has struck an eight-figure, three-year title sponsorship with the X Games, rebranding the competition as the MoonPay X Games League as the storied action-sports spectacle pivots to a new team-based model, a MoonPay spokesperson told Decrypt. What’s changing - The league will draft 150 athletes into “regionally repped” clubs at a Los Angeles event in March, a format unveiled during X Games’ final standalone event in Aspen, Colorado. - X Games leadership has been planning the league shift for more than a year and a half; incoming CEO Jeremy Bloom — the former Olympic freestyle skier and NFL player — framed the move around “salaries, benefits, and real stakes,” signaling a departure from the prize-money, sponsorship-dependent model that long defined skateboarding, BMX, snowboarding and freeskiing. What athletes get - The league is promising more stable compensation and support: a base salary reportedly set at $30,000 (per a LinkedIn post), paid travel expenses and a health-insurance stipend, Powder reported. Organizers say the new structure aims to reduce athletes’ reliance on individual sponsorships and boost take-home pay through “new team ownership opportunities.” How the league will work - Inspired by Formula 1’s team points system, athletes will earn points for their clubs across multiple disciplines. Observers compare elements of the plan to the NBA (draft mechanics) and esports (team strategy), while clubs are expected to be privately owned. Why MoonPay is involved - MoonPay’s president Keith Grossman told Decrypt the sponsorship does more than slap a logo on an event: it gives the crypto payments provider exclusivity across finance and banking branding in the league, distribution channels for decentralized finance projects and avenues to introduce its partners to the X Games’ audience. Grossman said MoonPay’s 35 million consumers align with the X Games demographic and that the company can help bring industry partners into the initiative, tying the new league closely to crypto. Context: crypto meets sports - The deal follows a wave of high-profile crypto-sports partnerships: Crypto.com’s 2021, 10-year, $175 million UFC sponsorship; Super Bowl crypto ads in 2022 (some later provoked regret, as with Larry David’s FTX spot); and recent collaborations between sports leagues and prediction-market firms and NFT projects (the NHL struck licensing deals with platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi and featured NFT-linked promotions such as Pudgy Penguins at the Winter Classic). Bottom line - As the X Games retires a decades-old format and pushes toward a salaried, team-driven league, MoonPay is positioning itself as a deep-pocketed crypto partner that can provide both capital and DeFi distribution. For athletes, the model promises steadier pay and benefits; for crypto firms, it’s another high-visibility bet on sports as a gateway to mainstream audiences. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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