The implosion of Voyager, a crypto broker that filed for bankruptcy last week, has stung trading firms and small investors. But they’re not the only ones. Also caught in the fallout are some high profile names from the world of professional sports.
According to sources, players from the NBA and NFL are facing the potential loss of funds they invested on Voyager—which offered yields as high as 9%—but can no longer recover. Meanwhile, those working for pro sports teams, from managers to trainers, in addition to friends and family in the players’ orbit, are also out of pocket.
The situation is a far cry from last year when Voyager was one of the hottest names in crypto, and the likes of NFL star Robert Gronkowski and the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks rushed to hitch their famous brands to the platform.
Voyager and pro athletes bring “crypto to everyone”
During the go-go days of the 2021 bull market, Voyager became one of the hottest names in crypto by offering outsize yields to everyday investors, all while promising (falsely it turns out) that the funds were backstopped by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
The buzz around Voyager also spawned a cottage industry of celebrity partnerships in the world of sports, including consultants who helped to broker deals with the company. One such consultant was Beth Silverberg who, under the terms of a contract signed by Voyager CEO Stephen Ehrlich, sought out athletes to lend their names to Voyager.
Now, Silverberg is one of the many Voyager users who can’t access their funds. In an interview with Fortune, she claimed that many NFL and NBA players, as well as coaches and team employees, are in the same position.
“In the beginning, it was all roses and everything was fabulous. It was a very, very good time. The influencers were very happy—whether it was photo shoots, commercials or advertising the platform, we all believed that Voyager was going to be a $50 billion company by 2023, because that is what their CEO had intended to happen,” said Silverberg.
This spirit of optimism was reflected by Voyager’s announcement last September that NFL star Gronk would become its “brand ambassador.” In this capacity, Gronk gushed that “The Voyager app is so easy to use right from the start. It has a big selection of over sixty different coins and pays up to 12% annual rewards, depending on the coins you hold. When I looked at the competition, it seemed like a no-brainer. Together, Voyager and I are bringing crypto to everyone.”
Around the same time, Voyager entered a five-year exclusive partnership with the Dallas Mavericks.
“Very pissed off”
Today, the sports world’s view of the company is, unsurprisingly, very different. “They’re very pissed off,” Silverberg says, citing anger among players and team employees who lost access to their money, as well as embarrassment on the part of star athletes and teams who lent their support to a company that has brought about the potential financial ruin of many small investors.
One team deeply embroiled in the Voyager mess is the NBA’s Miami Heat, according to one team employee who spoke to Fortune on the condition of anonymity.
“There’s several staff members and several players on the platform. We are all talking about it, texting and calling each other about it,” said the employee.
Voyager’s popularity within the Heat organization added to its legitimacy, the employee explains. “It felt good, [like] that it was a good company and seemed to be reputable. So, it’s extra frustrating to see this happening now.”
NBA all-star Victor Oladipo of the Miami Heat was among those who announced a partnership with Voyager in 2021 and, according to the employee, likely invested personal funds on the platform.
Representatives for the Miami Heat did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment, nor did those for Gronk, Faulk or Oladipo.
As for the Heat employee, they claim to have made a six-figure investment, amounting to the bulk of their savings, on Voyager. “It’s been scary to see a big portion of my savings that I don’t know if I’m going to ever get back,” the person said, adding they feel sorrow over having recommended the platform to those close to them.
“There have been people that I referred to Voyager and vouched for the company, [saying] that this is a good place to put a large chunk of money and a lot of my friends and family have gotten in on my word,” they said.
Other athletes tied to Voyager include NASCAR driver Landon Cassill, NBA Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady, and NFL Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk. None replied to Fortune’s request to comment on their involvement.
Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, tells Fortune that the team had a sponsorship deal with Voyager, but did not comment further.
Nonetheless, sports fans that started using Voyager after seeing their favorite athletes and teams promote the platform aren’t happy. Since Voyager’s bankruptcy filing, fans of the Dallas Mavericks have been lashing out at Cuban on social media for promoting the platform.
It’s unclear for now what, if anything, the sports figures will be able to recover from the Voyager debacle. At a chaotic bankruptcy court hearing last week, it became apparent that the company’s list of unpaid creditors is a long one, and that the athletes—not to mention the thousands of small-time investors—are at the back of the line when it comes to recouping even part of their investment.
“We know that the interruption of our normal operations, including account access, is frustrating and challenging for all of our customers and we are working as quickly as we can to implement our restructuring, which is designed to allow us to resume account access and maximize value for all of our customers,” said Voyager in a statement to Fortune.
Earlier this week, Voyager also provided an “update” on how the company plans to handle customer funds, saying customers would receive some combination of crypto, shares, tokens and any funds the company receives in legal proceedings. It’s unclear when this will occur, or how much customers might receive, and the company says its plans are subject to change.
As for the teams and athletes who hitched themselves to Voyager, the most memorable thing they are likely to receive from the company is a bitter lesson in being more cautious in lending their names to high-risk crypto ventures.
