In May of 2019, Carolina Panthers tackle Russell Okung let us know that he wanted to be paid in Bitcoin.
About a year and a half later, he got his wish. Half of the offensive lineman’s salary will be paid in the skyrocketing cryptocurrency moving forward.
Thanks to an arrangement from a digital coin app called Strike that enables paychecks to be converted into cryptocurrency, Okung’s $13 million salary in 2020 will be split, according to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, with half of his salary being Bitcoin and the other half being regular currency.
An NFL first: #Panthers OT Russell Okung will receive half of his $13M in salary in Bitcoin. As part of a partnership with @in_strike and thanks to creative payroll solutions from the #Panthers, @russellokung will fulfill the goal he set when he tweeted “Pay me in Bitcoin!”
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 29, 2020
Just like Okung called it. The timing couldn’t be better — one Bitcoin is currently worth $26,365.80.
Paid in Bitcoin. https://t.co/Ey6oOcmLjA
— russ (@RussellOkung) December 29, 2020
He’s the first to do this. But he probably won’t be the last.
