Last season we saw the first player to have part of his contract paid in Bitcoin. Carolina Panthers Tackle Russell Okung had $6.5 million of his salary or half of the total salary into Bitcoin. This was championed at the time and was a huge step and led to some different companies giving employees the ability to be paid in crypto as well.
Well the NFL isn't done yet. Even though the NFL seems to be lacking in the crypto and blockchain realm due in part to the lack of an NFL program their players continue to pave the way. Sean Culkin, a tight end signed to the Kansas City Chiefs is the first player, who if he makes the roster, will be paid his entire salary, $950,000, in Bitcoin! If you have not heard of Sean Culkin before it would not be very surprising as he has been a backup player his whole career only getting into 17 games over the past 4 seasons.
This is the second big news out of the NFL this week when it comes to getting paid in Bitcoin though. Consensus number 1 overall pick for the upcoming NFL draft Trevor Lawerence signed an endorsement deal with cryptocurrency investment app Blockfolio on Monday. Blockfolio will be handling his Bitcoin conversation as he is converting his entire signing bonus into Bitcoin!
This is the first endorsementship between a player and Blockfolio or other crypto apps. Together these two players continue the trial that Russell Okung started just last season. I wonder how much longer it will take for other players in other sports to continue this. The NFT world has spread across all sports realms accepting Bitcoin as payment is accepted across several different sports now (MLB, NBA, NFL). It would seem like a normal next step for players to work with different Bitcoin and crypto processing companies or investment companies to be able to get their salary or part of it or an endorsement deal converted into crypto.
