Ex-NFL Participant’s Bitcoin Selection Turns $6.5M Wage into $21M Payout

In 2020, former Carolina Panthers offensive sort out Russell Okung made headlines by negotiating to have half of his $13 million NFL contract for the 2020 season paid out in Bitcoin.

At present, that transfer has paid off, with the worth of Okung’s BTC now estimated at $21 million, because of the current surge within the asset’s costs.

$21 Million Payout

Whereas he was not paid in cryptocurrency, the Panthers converted $6.5 million of his wage by way of Strike, a monetary service from Zap that facilitated the acquisition of Bitcoin together with his funds. This transfer made Okung one of many first high-profile skilled athletes to obtain a considerable portion of his earnings in Bitcoin.

The digital asset was buying and selling at round $27,000 on the time of his funding. Together with his $6.5 million, Okung acquired roughly 240 BTC, a transfer seen as a big monetary danger for the reason that cryptocurrency was nonetheless in a progress part and was recognized for its unstable worth swings.

In late 2022, the cryptocurrency skilled one among its extra extreme downturns, dropping to round $17,000. This implies the 36-year-old’s funding quickly misplaced important worth, reducing to round $4.08 million. However, Okung opted to carry onto his stash.

Following the U.S. presidential election in November 2024, BTC costs surged dramatically, reaching an all-time excessive of over $83,000. As of this week, bitcoin is round $88,000, elevating the worth of Okung’s preliminary 240 BTC to roughly $21.36 million.

This improve successfully boosts the whole price of his Panthers contract to round $27.8 million, that means Okung’s choice to take a position half his wage in Bitcoin has led to a further $14.8 million in worth.

The previous offensive sort out, who retired from skilled soccer in 2023, lately took to social media to share his win, declaring, “Outcomes silence all debates.”

Curiously, the previous participant, who’s at the moment fronting an initiative dubbed Bitball that advocates paying athletes in BTC, has indicated that he won’t be cashing in on his windfall any time quickly. “How lengthy will I maintain Bitcoin? Okay, how lengthy do I plan to breathe?” Okung stated in a November 14 publish on X.

how lengthy will i maintain bitcoin? okay, how lengthy do i plan to breathe? https://t.co/em2zLo3cqY

— OKUNG (@RussellOkung) November 13, 2024

Trump’s Election Win Aftermath

Bitcoin’s current worth rally got here after Donald Trump’s victory within the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The rally attracted main inflows into digital belongings, with the OG cryptocurrency alone pulling in $1.8 billion, in response to CoinShares’ Digital Asset Fund Flows weekly report.

The rally prolonged past Bitcoin, with Ethereum gaining $157 million in inflows and notable exercise amongst altcoins like Solana, Uniswap, XRP, and Tron.

General, the whole cryptocurrency market capitalization reached a brand new all-time excessive of $3.12 trillion in early Asian buying and selling on Tuesday, Nov. 12. This surpassed the earlier document of $3.08 trillion set almost three years in the past in November 2021.