“Pay Me In Bitcoin”: NFL Star Russell Okung Coverts Part Of His $13 Million Paycheck To Crypto

A litany of articles went out yesterday suggesting that NFL star Russell Okung was the first player to be paid in bitcoin. While that lede isn’t exactly true (Okung is converting his dollars to BTC after being paid in USD), it speaks to a larger point about Bitcoin’s growing adoption with the masses.

Okung has been lobbying the NFL to be paid in bitcoin since 2019, where he publicly proclaimed his request on Twitter. But yesterday’s headline about him being paid in Bitcoin isn’t entirely true, according to the Verge. The NFL told the media outlet that it was “not accurate” and that “his people are converting some of the money into bitcoin”. Okung’s team, the Carolina Panthers, also confirmed he was being paid in dollars. 

Paid in Bitcoin. https://t.co/Ey6oOcmLjA

— russ (@RussellOkung) December 29, 2020

Okung’s claim on Twitter that he was “paid in bitcoin” appears to have been a push for a company called “Zap” that allows you to convert any percentage of your paycheck into bitcoin. Perhaps a deal with Zap is why Okung Tweeted 14 times on Tuesday about converting his paycheck to bitcoin, The Verge speculated. 

Do it, now. pic.twitter.com/9eAJxcBxLi

— russ (@RussellOkung) December 29, 2020

Regardless of whether there is a deal with Zap or not, it’s likely in Okung’s best interest to call attention to BTC – after all, the more people who adopt BTC, the higher the price will likely go. After all, when you are looking for bids, drumming up excitement on social media is one way to go about it. Perhaps that is what led to the not totally accurate headlines about Okung being paid in BTC on Tuesday:

To generate that kind of excitement, it helps to have headlines like “First NFL player to be paid in Bitcoin” spread around the web. It certainly sounds more intriguing than “NFL player decides to spend 50 percent of his salary on Bitcoin,” right? It’ll be interesting to see if any of those headlines change overnight.

Okung has reportedly converted half of his $13 million NFL salary into Bitcoin. 

Regardless of his motivation, it is undeniable proof that BTC adoption continues to move in a positive direction. And make no doubts about it, Okung isn’t just some BTC shill – his Twitter leads on that he is far more “woke” than your average NFL player. Case in point:

If you think elections are rigged wait until you learn about the US dollar.

— russ (@RussellOkung) December 29, 2020