9 Star Athletes Who Take Salary & Endorsement Money In Bitcoin: Aaron Rodgers, Klay Thompson And More

Beginning with a tweet in 2019, athletes have been publicly interested in receiving a portion of their salary in Bitcoin BTC/USD. The number of athletes receiving a portion of their salary continues to rise.

Here is a list of several major athletes that receive a portion of their salary in Bitcoin. In many of the cases, a third party company is used to handle the exchanging of U.S. Dollars into the cryptocurrency.

Russell Okung: Two-time NFL Pro Bowl player Russell Okung is credited with starting the pay me in Bitcoin movement with a 2019 tweet saying the phrase leading to the player eventually getting his wish. Zap partnered with Okung to convert 50% of this paychecks into Bitcoin behind the scenes.

Pay me in Bitcoin.

— Okung 💯 (@RussellOkung) May 14, 2019

Aaron Rodgers: Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers partnered with Block Inc SQ and its CashApp unit. The partnership sees the three-time NFL MVP receiving a portion of his salary in Bitcoin.

“I’m pumped to share that I’ve recently teamed with CashApp, they’ve enabled me to take part of my NFL salary in Bitcoin for the very first time,” Rodgers said in a video.

Saquon Barkley: NFL running back Saquon Barkley announced in July 2021 he would receive 100% of his endorsement money converted to Bitcoin, via payments company Strike.

“You see inflation. You see how high it is right now,” Barkley said.

Missing time due to injury and not knowing how long your NFL career could be was among the reasons Barkley cited. Barkley receives over $10 million in endorsements, including Dunkin’ Donuts, PepsiCo PEP, Nike Inc NKE, Bose, Panini and Toyota Motors Corp TM.

Shohei Ohtani: Major League Baseball superstar and reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani receives a portion of his salary in Bitcoin thanks to a partnership with cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Ohtani serves as a global ambassador for FTX and also owns an equity stake in the company.

Related Link: How To Buy Bitcoin 

Odell Beckham Jr: NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. announced a partnership with Cash App in November. The partnership sees OBJ receive a portion of his salary in Bitcoin and a giveaway of $1 million from the payments app company.

Trevor Lawrence: Before he was drafted first overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, quarterback Trevor Lawrence announced a new deal with Blockfolio, a unit of FTX. The deal made Lawrence one of the first athletes to get a portion of their signing bonus paid in cryptocurrency.

“The world of sports and crypto will never be the same," Blockfolio said in a tweet.

Lawrence received the signing bonus paid in Bitcoin, Ethereum ETH/USD and Solana SOL/USD.

Cade Cunningham: Detroit Pistons rookie Cade Cunningham was the first overall draft pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He signed an exclusive deal with Blockfi.

“I’m excited to partner with BlockFi to really diversify my portfolio and manage my crypto assets; especially as they become more important in personal finance,” Cunningham said. “For me, it’s not just about setting up myself for financial success long-term but also to educate future generations on financial wellness.”

Klay Thompson: Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson partnered with Cash App in early 2022 to get paid a portion of his salary in Bitcoin. Thompson called Bitcoin “the future of money.”

CashApp will pay out $1 million to fans that used the service and the hasthtag #paidinbitcoin.

Andre Iguodala: Golden State Warriors star Andre Iguodala partnered with Cash App to receive a portion of his salary in Bitcoin the same time Thompson did.

Photo: courtesy of Chad Davis/Flickr