<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The firm behind the U.S.-based crypto exchange FTX.US, West Realm Shires Services Inc, announced Wednesday a new sponsorship deal with the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team, according to a Wednesday release. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Through the deal, FTX.US will pay the UKY basketball players in USD and allow them to create and profit off their own non-fungible tokens (NFTs) sold on the </span><a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/120044/ftx-us-launches-marketplace-for-trading-solana-based-nfts"><span style="font-weight: 400;">FTX NFT marketplace</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. In addition, FTX.US will donate funds to a charity of the UKY basketball players’ choosing. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We’re thrilled to work with players from one of the most successful collegiate basketball programs in the country,” said Avi Dabir, FTX Vice President of Business Development, in a release. “Outside of the well-deserved financial compensation, we will be assisting in the student athletes’ education of digital assets so that they can make informed investment decisions as they look to enter the space.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">FTX.US’s sponsorship of the players comes three months after the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) allowed student athletes to profit off their names, image and likeness (NIL) — which the NCAA had banned before reversing the decision in July of this year. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition, FTX.US move comes two months after the firm launched a </span><a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/113272/ftx-is-creating-an-nft-focused-sports-and-entertainment-marketplace"><span style="font-weight: 400;">sports- and entertainment-focused NFT marketplace</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> with Dolphin Entertainment, a media company, on August 2. </span></p>