Odell Beckham Jr., wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams football team, has said he will be taking all of his $4.25 million National Football League salary in Bitcoin.
In a Monday post to his Twitter account, Beckham said he would be partnering with Cash App to take his next NFL salary in Bitcoin (BTC). National Insider reporter Ian Rapoport said earlier this month that Beckham would be earning a $750,000 base salary on top of a $500,000 signing bonus in addition to $3 million in other incentives, totaling $4.25 million for the 2021 season.
It's a NEW ERA & to kick that off I'm hyped to announce that I'm taking my new salary in bitcoin thanks to @CashApp. To ALL MY FANS out there, no matter where u r: THANK YOU! I’m giving back a total of $1M in BTC rn too. Drop your $cashtag w. #OBJBTC & follow @CashApp NOW pic.twitter.com/ds1IgZ1zup
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) November 22, 2021
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, Beckham’s total salary would be worth roughly 75.66 BTC, given a price of $56,103 at the time of publication. Though the crypto asset reached an all-time high price near $69,000 on Nov. 10, it has since fallen under $60,000.
Beckham, who currently has a CryptoPunk-style image as his Twitter profile picture, currently plays with the Rams in Los Angeles. The city’s Staples Center — not the home of the Rams, but other sports teams including the Los Angeles Clippers — has recently been targeted by fans and social media personalities after the Crypto.com platform signed a $700 million deal to rename the arena.
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Beckham joins other professional sports players embracing crypto as the space seemingly becomes more mainstream. In October, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady said he would be compensating the fan who held his 600th-career-touchdown football with 1 BTC along with some signed sports memorabilia. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers — recently in the national spotlight after deceiving the public about his COVID-19 vaccine status — also said he would be receiving part of his $22 million salary in BTC.