Forget the roar of the crowd, it is now the whirring of a Bitcoin transaction that’s music to the ears of several professional athletes. Â
Cryptocurrency, the digital form of money, is slowly making inroads beyond the realm of tech enthusiasts, and the world of sports is no exception. Sports Stars are increasingly preferring their digital crypto wallets over traditional fiat currency controlled and regulated by banks and governments.Â
However, the road ahead is not all rosy for the crypto community in the sports arena as even today big online bookmakers in various countries, like betting sites Ireland, Sweden, and the UK, are still hesitant to accept cryptocurrency and prefer traditional payment methods.
In such a situation, instances of professional athletes opting for crypto for their finances are a healthy sign for the ecosystem in the coming days.Â
Let us have a look at the list of athletes who went crypto!
Russell Okung – NFL
NFL is the most popular professional sports league in the US and its stars are usually household names. Some of them have also become pioneer figures for cryptocurrency.Â
Star offensive tackle Russell Okung was drafted with the sixth pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and represented four franchises in the course of his 13-year career. He won the Super Bowl in 2013 with the Seahawks and twice made the Pro Bowl, in 2012 and 2017.
He struggled with injuries from 2020 onwards and was without a club from the end of the 2020 season, eventually retiring in 2023, but towards the end of his career, he also became a crypto pioneer. In 2019, he revealed receiving part of his salary in crypto, confirming in 2020 that he received half his annual salary, roughly $6.5 million, in Bitcoin.
Trevor Lawrence – NFL
The first pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, quarterback Trevor Lawrence was already a star before he took to the field with the Jacksonville Jaguars and he has been steadily enhancing his reputation as one of the League’s rising talents, now in the third year of his rookie contract.
Lawrence has also been an advocate of crypto from the beginning of his NFL career. When he joined the Jaguars, his entire signing bonus, worth $22.6 million was paid in cryptocurrency, via the Blockfolio app, and it is known that he holds Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana in his portfolio.
Saquon Barkley – NFL
While Lawrence is making his way in the NFL, Saquon Barkley is approaching his peak as a young talent. This NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2018 has twice made the Pro Bowl and is the standout star for the New York Giants.
The dynamic running back is one of the most vocal exponents of cryptocurrency and in 2021, he revealed that he intended to receive all of his income in the form of bitcoins, although his base salary would continue to be paid in fiat currency. The full amount of this cryptocurrency is not known, as Barkley has multiple contracts with companies as diverse as Toyota and Nike, but it has been reported that he may have received as much as $10 million in crypto payments.
Cade Cunningham – NBA
Cade Cunningham, just like Trevor Lawrence, topped the charts in the NBA Draft the same year, sealing the deal with the Detroit Pistons. Embracing the crypto wave, Cunningham teamed up with BlockFi, choosing to get his signing bonus in bitcoins. He didn’t stop there; he dove deeper into the world of crypto by helping BlockFi spread the word through a bunch of videos and a broad marketing campaign.
Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala – NBA
At the beginning of 2022, Golden State Warriors stars Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala joined the cryptocurrency revolution when they announced on their social media accounts that they were going to take a portion of their salary in the form of bitcoins. This arrangement was linked to their partnership with the CashApp mobile payment platform. Iguodala retired earlier this year, but Thompson is still a key part of the team that has won four championships since 2015.
The Future of Crypto in Sports
The future of cryptocurrency in sports remains unwritten, but with several high-profile athletes embracing digital currencies, it’s clear that the game is changing. Whether it becomes a mainstream payment method or remains a niche option is yet to be determined. One thing’s for sure: cryptocurrency has entered the playing field, and it’s here to stay.
