8 Pro Athletes Who Got Paid In Bitcoin And How Much They’ve Earned If They’re Still Holding

It’s been more than a decade since Bitcoin was unleashed on an unsuspecting world, and while the cryptocurrency still faces plenty of skepticism, it’s been impossible to ignore the meteoric rise it’s experienced while hitting plenty of rough patches along the way.

There are a number of high-profile professional athletes who’ve emerged as Bitcoin evangelists in recent years—including a few who’ve gone as far as to convert their salary into the cryptocurrency in the hopes of making even more money.

Others have opted to accept it as payment in the endorsement deals they’ve signed, and while it’s difficult to determine exactly how much money all of the people on this list have made given the lack of transparency and the many factors involved, we can still make an educated guess by examining the circumstances of those deals.

In situations involving salary, I’m going to operate under the assumption the players in question ultimately ended up with around half of that sum due to taxes and agent fees and have not touched their investment since making it. A single Bitcoin is hovering at around $89,500 as of this writing, so that’s the number we’ll be going with to assess the total change.

When it comes to slightly murkier deals, we’re also going to assume the initial amount remains untouched while taking a look at the percentages.

 

Russell Okung

Russell Okung was a bit of a trailblazer on the Bitcoin front when he announced he was converting half of the approximately $13 million he earned during the 2020 season.

Using the rules I’ve established, we’re going to say Okung ultimately purchased around $3.5 million worth of Bitcoin at the end of 2020 (which is when he started promoting his partnership with a crypto company).

Okung would have ended up with around 130 Bitcoin given its approximately $27,000 value at the time. As things currently stand, that stockpile is worth around $11,635,000 due to a 231% return. 

Odell Beckham Jr.

In 2021, Odell Beckham Jr. followed Okung’s lead by converting the  $750,000 he earned with the Rams into Bitcoin midway through November.

If we convert that to $325,000, Beckham could have gotten around 5 Bitcoin based on its ~$64,000 price at the time. His initial investment is now worth $454,000, which is a relatively modest 40% increase but still nothing to scoff at.

Aaron Rodgers

If you’ve kept tabs on Aaron Rodgers over the past few years, you definitely won’t be shocked to learn he’s a Bitcoin Guy, as he announced he was converting an unspecified portion of his salary at the start of November 2021.

Bitcoin was worth around $62,000 when he announced a move that was linked to an endorsement deal with Cash App, and its value has risen by around 44% since then.

Trevor Lawrence

A number of outlets falsely reported Trevor Lawrence had decided to convert his $24 million rookie signing bonus into Bitcoin, as he actually opted to be paid in crypto after signing an endorsement deal with Blockfolio (an app that was owned by the house of cards that was FTX) a few days before he was drafted in April 2021.

The payout reportedly involved other cryptocurrencies including Ethereum and Solana, but if we’re focusing just on Bitcoin, Lawrence has seen the value grow around 65% based on its ~$54,000 price at the time.

However, Lawrence was one of the many celebrities named in a class-action lawsuit brought in the wake of FTX’s collapse. The terms of the settlement he agreed to weren’t disclosed, but he probably took a hit.

Klay Thompson And Andre Iguodala

At the start of 2022, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala (who were playing together on the Warriors at the time) followed in the footsteps of Aaron Rodgers by signing a similarly structured deal with Cash App.

Bitcoin was worth around $42,000 when they announced the endorsement on January 10th, and it’s now worth 113% more than it was on that day.

Cade Cunningham

In 2021, Cade Cunningham followed the lead of Trevor Lawrence when he inked a deal with the now-defunct crypto company BlockFi and opted to be paid entirely in Bitcoin.

The cryptocurrency was in the $45,000 range when the partnership was announced, and has nearly doubled since then due to the 99% gains it’s experienced.

Landon Cassill

In 2021, NASCAR driver Landon Cassill agreed to be paid in Bitcoin and Litecoin by a crypto company that sponsored him and his team for 19 races.

It was a pretty natural partnership for a driver who’d already mined and traded Bitcoin before the deal was announced midway through June 2021 when it was worth around $38,000, which set him up for a 135% windfall.

It’s obviously worth noting Cassill ended up in court for promoting the company after it collapsed and lost $1.7 billion of its customers’ money before he settled the lawsuit, so it’s doubtful he came out ahead when everything was said and done.