Odell Beckham Jr. to Receive NFL Salary in Bitcoin – A New Era for Athletes?

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BTC for OBJ in the NFL is A-OK

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Key points

• New wide receiver for the L.A. Rams, Odell Beckham Jr., has announced that he'll take Bitcoin for his full NFL salary this season.
• OBJ joins Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers and the Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence as other NFL players who decided on some form of crypto comp this year.

Check out The Ascent's cryptocurrency apps for 2021

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Another high-profile NFL player is drafting cryptocurrencies into their digital portfolios. Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (OBJ) tweeted on Monday that he will receive his salary for the remainder of the 2021-2022 season in Bitcoin. Beckham tweeted the statement below to his 4.1 million Twitter followers.

OBJ tweets his Bitcoin salary news to fans

"It's the start of a new era. I'm looking forward to the future! That's why I’m taking my new salary in Bitcoin, thanks to Cash App," wrote Beckham in his announcement. "To all my fans out there -- no matter where you are -- I want to say Thank You! I'm giving back a total of $1 million worth of BTC [Bitcoin] to celebrate you."

Earlier this month, the diva wide receiver was released from the Cleveland Browns and was picked up by the Los Angeles Rams. Based on performance bonuses and milestone payments, he could earn up to $4.5 million as part of his one-year deal with his new team.

In addition to the Bitcoin payment announcement, Beckham also stated that he's participating in a promotional giveaway of $1 million in Bitcoin to his fans, presumably sponsored by Cash App. Cash App is one of the best places to buy Bitcoin.

Other NFL players chose crypto comp this season

Beckham is an eight-year veteran who began his NFL career with the New York Giants, where he made three straight Pro Bowl appearances and won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2014. He played for the Giants through 2018 and joined the Browns the following year.

Earlier this month, Pro Bowl quarterback and MVP for the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers, announced a similar arrangement as OBJ's with Cash App that includes taking part of his NFL salary in Bitcoin. While this spring, rookie phenom Trevor Lawrence, who was selected as the top pick overall in the NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, announced at the time that he would take his $24 million signing bonus in crypto.

Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of almost $69,000 just a couple weeks back. As cryptocurrency adoption continues to grow among Americans and in other countries, it will be important to keep an eye on the news. The federal government has been threatening increased crypto regulation for some time now. If and when that happens and what form it takes will likely have a sizable impact on the entire industry.

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