When NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. determined to make a daring assertion about his monetary future in 2021, he didn’t simply catch passes — he caught Bitcoin fever.
Partnering with Sq. CashApp, OBJ proudly introduced he’d take his whole $4.25 million Los Angeles Rams wage for the 2021-2022 season in Bitcoin (BTC).
Skeptics scoffed. Bitcoin was buying and selling at a good $57,400 in November 2021, and the transfer appeared like a moonshot. However for Beckham Jr., it was a “new era.” See beneath.
To have fun each his new crypto-friendly paycheck and his transfer to the Rams, he promised to offer away $1 million in Bitcoin to followers by way of X (previously often called Twitter).
Cue the avalanche of “thank you” tweets from followers thrilled by their newfound digital riches.
Quick-forward to earlier this month: Beckham Jr. made clear he was comfortable along with his resolution.
Beckham Jr. wasn’t alone on this cryptocurrency craze. He’s only one athlete on a rising roster of NFL gamers eager on swapping bucks for so-called digital gold.
Russell Okung
Earlier than Beckham Jr. was Russell Okung. The offensive deal with acquired warmth in 2020 with the Carolina Panthers by changing half his $13 million wage into Bitcoin.
Okung’s announcement, “Paid in Bitcoin,” went viral, positioning him because the NFL’s crypto pioneer. Little did he know he’d encourage a tidal wave of blockchain enthusiasm amongst his gridiron friends.
NFL executives and monetary advisors — even his mom — reportedly tried to dam Okung from taking the crypto plunge. However his insistence paid off.
Right this moment, he is likely one of the founders of Bitball, a sports activities league enterprise that pays taking part athletes in crypto.
Sean Culkin
In 2021, Sean Culkin — a good finish with the Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens — turned the primary NFL participant to transform his whole NFL wage into Bitcoin upon becoming a member of the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs.
“I fully believe Bitcoin is the future of finance and I wanted to prove that I have real skin in the game,” Culkin mentioned in April 2021.
He was “not just trying to make a quick buck,” he added.
In March, he tweeted a shoutout to fellow crypto-bull Okung.
Trevor Lawrence
The previous No. 1 draft choose signed with Blockfolio, a cryptocurrency portfolio monitoring app, in 2021.
Lawrence, a quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars, was rumored to have had his signing bonus paid fully in cryptocurrency.
Nonetheless, opposite to reviews, that bonus was separate from his $24 million NFL deal. Misreporting led some to take a position that Lawrence misplaced $15 million as a result of subsequent crypto market crash. Recall how the cryptocurrency market’s capitalization declined from $2.9 trillion in November 2021 to $798 billion on the finish of 2022.
In actuality, Lawrence’s NFL earnings remained untouched by the blockchain drama on the time.
Aaron Rodgers, Saquon Barkley and Demario Davis
Earlier than he was quarterback for the New York Jets, Aaron Rodgers partnered with Money App in late 2021, selecting to obtain a part of his NFL wage in Bitcoin.
That yr, Saquon Barkley, the New York Giants working again, introduced he’d convert all his off-field earnings into Bitcoin, citing the significance of long-term wealth preservation.
An honorable point out goes to Demario Davis — a linebacker with the New Orleans Saints — who reportedly declared that fiat forex is “inherently unfair and corrupted.”
In the end, he didn’t settle for his NFL contract in Bitcoin. However in April this yr, Davis expressed curiosity, calling it “the future of money.”
See beneath.
Crypto’s finish zone: Fumbling or scoring massive?
Whereas these NFL stars made headlines for his or her Bitcoin paydays, the timing wasn’t precisely clutch.
Bitcoin is having fun with all-time highs now, however recall its sharp nosedive after November 2021. After hitting a then-peak of practically $69,000, rising rates of interest, market over-speculation, and high-profile crypto crises like TerraUSD’s collapse and FTX’s chapter contributed to its downfall.
By mid-2022, Bitcoin’s worth had fallen beneath $20,000, highlighting the dangers of unstable investments, particularly for these like NFL stars embracing crypto salaries.
