Rome, via DigitalBits from the shirts: the sponsor does not pay. Here because

Predictably, even Roma, after Inter, discovered that the main sponsor had empty pockets. Same brand, announced a few weeks after the Nerazzurri in the summer of 2021, in full love between sport and cryptocurrencies: DigitalBits, the digital banking platform owned by Zytara. The Giallorossi responded to the default by obscuring the name in the next championship match, tomorrow evening at the Olimpico: the word SPQR will be on the front of the shirts, to symbolize the link with the city. A first move, very strong, after the non-payment of the installment which expired at the end of March. A sort of freezing of the partnership, at least as regards the most visible space, in the hope that the main sponsor will fulfill its obligations. If this does not happen, Roma will turn off all the other slots provided for in the contract.

The backstory

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The question, at this point, is the following: why did Roma’s default only emerge now, unlike the Nerazzurri? DigitalBits, in fact, after the commitments fulfilled during the first season (2021-22) had stopped paying because it was overwhelmed by the crisis. And Inter immediately noticed it, given that the first 2022-23 installment required a payment in July, promptly communicating it because that contract is part of the guarantees provided to investors to cover the bond. The default occurred more recently at the Roma home due to the particular type of contract signed by the Giallorossi. As we anticipated in the Sport&Business newsletter at the end of February, it was only a matter of time. The agreement, in fact, provided that DigitalBits (or rather the owner Zytara) pay a first installment of 500 thousand euros only in March and the balance at the end of the season. How much? 9.5 million, considering that the three-year partnership contemplated rising amounts: 5 million in 2021-22, 10 this season and 21 in 2023-24. The Giallorossi managers weren’t blown away. They knew the situation very well, given that Inter had acted as a “guinea pig”, and they had already set to work with the lights off to find an alternative partner. Considering the expected amounts this year and next, there is a potential shortfall of 31 million to cover.