Former Heat forward Udonis Haslem will pay $420,000 to escape an investor lawsuit over the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.
Haslem, who is now a studio analyst for Amazon Prime Video’s NBA coverage, agreed to settle in December, but the amount he would pay was not disclosed. The $420,000 financial figure was revealed in a May 22 filing that featured details about his and two other settlements with the plaintiffs; law firm Fenwick & West is paying $54 million to resolve claims against it, while accounting firm Prager Metis will pay $11.75 million. The amount Haslem will pay represents a fraction of the more than $71 million he earned in contracts during his 20-year NBA career.
Haslem was included as a defendant in the lawsuit over claims he knowingly promoted FTX and unregistered securities on social media, at public events, and in other promotional materials without disclosing he was being paid to do so. It was also alleged that he knew his endorsements—which included him saying he was “100% in” and touting the company as “safe”—would be widely disseminated, especially in Florida, according to an amended complaint filed in May.
FTX paid Haslemin equity, not cash. The complaint says his “promised compensation totaled over $1 million in value.” Before FTX collapsed, that equity position had ballooned to roughly $15 million in value, according to the complaint.
