Kansas City Chiefs tight end Sean Culkin announced on Twitter that he plans to convert his entire salary for the 2021 NFL season — $920,000 — to Bitcoin. He’ll become the first NFL player to do so; former Panthers left tackle Russell Okung converted half of his $13 million salary for last season to Bitcoin.
Speaking with CoinDesk’s Danny Nelson, Culkin said the Chiefs are aware of his plans and that his salary is still paid in dollars. Culkin, who signed a reserve/future deal with Kansas City back in February, will use an app called Strike to convert his salary to Bitcoin, according to CoinDesk. This is the same service used by Okung in 2020.
I fully believe Bitcoin is the future of finance and I wanted to prove that I have real skin in the game — not just trying to make a quick buck. I will be converting my entire 2021 NFL salary to #Bitcoin.
— Sean Culkin (@culkin22) April 26, 2021
Culkin said his decision will allow him to focus on football. He’ll need to make the Chiefs’ roster or practice squad in order to enact his plan, however; His reserve/future deal with Kansas City is not guaranteed.
“This is generational for me,” Culkin said, via CoinDesk.
As of April 26, one Bitcoin is equal to roughly $53,625 U.S. dollars. Back in 2010, one Bitcoin was worth roughly 8 cents. Should he make the team, Strike will automatically convert Culkin’s paychecks each week.
“For me, it makes sense to get paid in the hardest form of currency, and it’s something that is resistant to inflationary pressures that I think is very relevant in this current economic environment,” Culkin said, via CoinDesk.
