Sports teams love crypto. What happens when their sponsor strikes out?

The Nationals signed a five-year, $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.

As the fallout from Terra’s crash continues, the Nationals’ predicament highlights the potential pitfalls for athletes, teams and leagues that have tethered their brands to the volatile digital currency.

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 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 spokeswoman for the Nationals, 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.