The ability for college athletes to be paid for their name, image and likeness in a blockbuster 2021 NCAA agreement has changed NCAA Football forever and will see one player get paid in Bitcoin BTC/USD in 2025, following other professional athletes into cryptocurrency.
What Happened: Since the approval of NIL deals, top NCAA Football players have been able to earn thousands and millions of dollars on deals.
USC recruit Matai Tagoa'i announced he will be paid in Bitcoin for a portion of his NIL payments starting next year, as reported by On3.
The deal comes through a partnership with Strike, a Bitcoin payments app. USC NIL collective House of Victory helped facilitate the deal.
"This is a game-changer for me. By taking part of my NIL earnings in Bitcoin, I'm setting myself up for long-term financial growth. I'm grateful to Strike, House of Victory and 3Point0 Labs for helping me take this step," Tagoa'i said.
With the deal, Tagoa'i is believed to be the first college athlete to get paid NIL payments in Bitcoin.
"I'm proud to be part of this innovative collaboration that's redefining the future of college athletics and finance and hope to set an example for other young athletes."
Strike founder Jack Mallers, who has helped with other Bitcoin deals for athletes, took to social media to share his excitement for the deal.
"Bitcoin is more than a new technology. Bitcoin is a cultural phenomenon. An idea and a movement that's time has come. Excited to work with @mataitagoai and more athletes around the world that want to keep the wealth they earn and inspire new generations to sue better money," Mallers tweeted.
A four-star recruit and top-100 recruit nationwide, the linebacker is expected to be a key to USC Football next season. Tagoa'i picked USC over other top schools he was considering including Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and Washington.
USC finished with a 6-6 record in the 2024 NCAA Football season, including a 4-5 record in the Big Ten Conference, its first in the conference.
Why It's Important: Former NFL player Russell Okung previously made headlines in 2020 as he announced that half his salary would be paid in Bitcoin.
While many criticized the deal and later took shots at Okung when the price of Bitcoin went down, the former NFL player is having the last laugh now with Bitcoin trading near $100,000 and significantly higher than when he acquired it.
The approval of NIL continues to play a big role in college sports, specifically college football and the deal between Strike and Tagoa'i could be the first of more cryptocurrency deals to come.
NIL deals have even seen one of the richest people in the world help the University of Michigan land a top QB recruit, as Benzinga previously shared. NIL is also the reason there was a new NCAA Football game for Electronic Arts Inc EA this season, which went on to be a top selling game for the year.
BTC Price Action: Bitcoin trades at $95,924.19 at the time of writing, versus a 52-week trading range of $38,521.89 to $108,268.45. Bitcoin is up 117% year-to-date in 2024.
Read Next:
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
