An ever-growing list of superstar athletes across major sports like football, basketball, UFC, NASCAR and more have been lining up to take portions of their mega salaries and endorsements paid directly in cryptocurrency. Top-tier sports icons like Aaron Rodgers, Odell Beckham Jr., Lionel Messi and more have been busy stacking crypto!
In this blog, I’ll give you the full rundown on which big names and sports leagues have been getting in on the crypto pay action.
Aaron Rodgers
Let’s start at the top with Aaron Rodgers, the four-time NFL MVP quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers was one of the first big pro athletes to announce he’d be taking a portion of his massive $134 million contract paid in Bitcoin back in 2021.
He even partnered with CashApp at the time to give away $1 million worth of BTC to fans as part of the promo. Unfortunately for Rodgers, the timing hasn’t been great – he netted that Bitcoin payout right before crypto prices tanked in 2022.
Odell Beckham Jr.
Following right behind his fellow gridiron star, NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. revealed he would be converting his new contract with the L.A. Rams entirely to Bitcoin. This was also done in partnership with CashApp, where OBJ gave away another $1 million in BTC, just like Rodgers.
At the time his 1-year, $1.25 million deal was announced, Bitcoin was worth around $64k. But by the time Beckham and the Rams won the Super Bowl, BTC had crashed under $40k, leaving the star receiver with potentially heavy unrealized losses – ouch!
Lionel Messi
Let’s move to the international soccer/football stage, where Lionel Messi shook up the game by departing Barcelona for a $30 million annual contract with Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. Another first part of Messi’s deal included getting paid in the club’s proprietary “PSG Fan Tokens.”
While not technically cryptocurrencies, these tokens are still built on blockchain tech and accrue value through investment/speculation from fans. When first announced, the token’s price doubled to $60 as the market went into a frenzy over the Messi signing.
Landon Cassill
For NASCAR fans, pro racecar driver Landon Cassill made headlines after securing a fully crypto-paid sponsorship deal to race in 19 events during the 2022 season. Through a partnership with crypto company Voyager, Cassill would collect his entire salary and reimbursements for the year in Bitcoin and Litecoin.
Cassill wasn’t just hopping on a trend either – the dude was an O.G. Bitcoin miner who used to run rigs out of his basement back in the day! He planned to spend and reinvest portions of his fresh crypto pay as he went along.
Russel Okung
Before all these other guys, though, NFL offensive lineman Russell Okung was making boss crypto moves first. Okung got his wish the following season when the Panthers agreed to pay half of his $13 million salary for 2020 in BTC.
Ifunanyachi Achara
Here’s a name true crypto fans will recognize: Ifunanyachi Achara, a Nigerian soccer player in the MLS. Back in 2021, Achara opted to take around half his annual $84,000 salary paid in Bitcoin from his Toronto F.C. club.
Saquon Barkley
NFL superstar running back Saquon Barkley has gone all-in on crypto wealth. While still taking his annual multi-million dollar Giants contract in USD for now, the Penn State product announced all his future endorsement money from deals with Nike, Pepsi, Toyota and more would be paid 100% in Bitcoin.
Barkley’s public advocacy for creating “generational wealth” through crypto has drawn plenty of praise from the community but also plenty of criticism from those who view it as naive or reckless for young people to treat speculative assets like currency.
Sean Culkin
Not all crypto-paid athletes have massive mega-deals, though. Take Sean Culkin, for example. The depth NFL tight end made history in 2021 when he became the league’s first player to accept his entire annual $920,000 salary paid in Bitcoin through his time with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Unfortunately, Culkin’s Bitcoin bet didn’t pay off on or off the field, as he was released shortly after and has yet to find another job. His adopted “Bitcoin is the future of finance” mantra has quickly faded into uncertainty.
Alex Crognale
From superstars to journeymen athletes, minor-league soccer player Alex Crognale has also secured the Bitcoin bag. In 2022, the Birmingham Legion defender started receiving 15% of his salary paid in BTC through the crypto payroll service Bitwage.
Shohei Ohtani
Not even MLB superstars are immune from crypto fever! In 2021, Japanese two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani landed an unprecedented equity stake AND crypto compensation from digital exchange FTX in a sponsorship deal.
In Conclusion
So those are some of the hugest names in sports who have jumped feet first into the crypto pay pool. But what’s really driving this digital money movement? Join a crypto trading platform like BTC Evex and find out what all the buzz is about!
