Russell Okung, who plays for Carolina Panthers in the American National Football League (NFL), announced that he has finally received 50% of his $13 million yearly fees in Bitcoin. Okung became the first player in the NFL to get paid in Bitcoin.
According to the official announcement, Okung converted $6.5 million of his NFL salary into Bitcoin through BTC Payments startup Zap. Okung has been a great supporter of digital currency as he tweeted in May 2019 that he wanted to be paid with the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
The NFL Player replied to his own tweet yesterday and announced that he has finally received payment in Bitcoin. Okung criticized the US Dollar and raised concerns about rising inflation.
"When we are all paid in Bitcoin, no one can tell us what to do with the value we create. If you think elections are rigged wait until you learn about the US dollar. You can make 'x' a year and watch it slowly erode with inflation or you can protect your hard-earned money with Bitcoin,” Okung mentioned on Twitter.
Bitcoin in Sports
NFL cleared that the league did not pay Okung directly in Bitcoin, and he converted his yearly salary into BTC through a startup. Despite the reason that the American League is not pursuing payments directly through Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency has gained immense popularity among athletes around the world. Jack Mallers, Founder of Zap, told Coindesk in an interview that athletes of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and in Major League Baseball (MLB) are in discussions to enter the program.
The price of Bitcoin has jumped more than 8% in the last 24 hours to reach $28,500. The world’s largest cryptocurrency gained significant value in December and jumped from $19,000 to $28,000 in less than 4 weeks. The total market cap of Cryptocurrencies is now above $750 billion as BTC dominance crossed 70%, which is its highest level in weeks.
