Tom Brady, Naomi Osaka and Steph Curry at centre of US lawsuit against defunct crypto exchange

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady are among a host of clubs and athletes named as defendants in a lawsuit filed against cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

Along with Brady and the Buccaneers, Naomi Osaka, Steph Curry, Shaquille O'Neil, Udonis Haslem, and the Golden State Warriors are named in the lawsuit.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Baseball stars Shohei Ohtani and David Ortiz are also named as defendants.

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FTX was the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange until it ended up with billions of dollars worth in losses and filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday.

The company, which was founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, is under investigation by authorities in the United States. Before its failure, FTX was known for using high-profile endorsements to promote products.

As well as endorsements, FTX also had naming rights partnerships. The Miami Heat's home venue had been called the FTX Arena since June 2021, but the Heat have terminated the partnership this week.

The FTX brand also appeared on the side of Mercedes cars and merchandise, a partnership that was agreed in September 2021.

The F1 constructor has suspended its agreement with the company.

The lawsuit, which has been filed in Florida, alleges that the endorsements brought instant credibility to FTX and those involved should be held just as culpable as the companies founder.

"Part of the scheme employed by the FTX Entities involved utilising some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment - like these Defendants - to raise funds and drive American consumers to invest, pouring billions of dollars into the deceptive FTX platform to keep the whole scheme afloat," the lawsuit said.

Class-action attorney Adam Moskowitz pointed to a previous case where Floyd Mayweather was fined $767,500 for promoting cryptocurrency in 2018.

"The crypto industry needed celebrity endorsers to get any credibility," Moskowitz said.

The case has been filed by Pierce Robertson, who is also involved in a separate lawsuit against another failed cryptocurrency exchange, called Voyager Digital.

Voyager Digital was endorsed by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, but failed for bankruptcy protection over the summer.