Ex-NFL Player’s Bitcoin Pick Turns $6.5M Salary Into $21M Payout

In 2020, former Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Russell Okung made headlines by negotiating to have half of his $13 million NFL contract for the 2020 season paid in Bitcoin.

Today, that move has paid off, with Okung’s BTC value now estimated at $21 million, thanks to the asset’s recent surge in prices.

$21 million payout

Although he wasn’t paid in cryptocurrency, the Panthers converted $6.5 million of his salary through Strike, a Zap financial service that made it easy to buy Bitcoin with his funds. This move made Okung one of the first high-profile professional athletes to receive a substantial portion of his earnings in Bitcoin.

The digital asset was trading around $27,000 at the time of his investment. With his $6.5 million, Okung acquired approximately 240 BTC, a move seen as a significant financial risk as the cryptocurrency was still in a growth phase and known for its volatile price swings.

At the end of 2022, the cryptocurrency experienced one of its worst declines, dropping to $17,000. That means the 36-year-old’s investment temporarily lost significant value, dropping to $4.08 million. However, Okung chose to keep his deposit.

After the November 2024 US presidential election, BTC prices rose dramatically, reaching an all-time high of over $83,000. As of this week, bitcoin is around $88,000, increasing the value of Okung’s initial 240 BTC to approximately $21.36 million.

This increase effectively increases the total value of his Panthers contract to about $27.8 million, meaning that Okung’s decision to invest half of his salary in Bitcoin has resulted in an additional value of 14.8 millions of dollars.

The former offensive tackle, who retired from pro football in 2023, recently took to social media to share his win, declaring, “The results silence all debate.”

Interestingly, the former player, who currently heads an initiative called Bitball that advocates paying athletes in BTC, has indicated that he won’t be cashing out his windfall anytime soon. “How long will I hold Bitcoin? OK, how long do I plan to breathe?” Okung said in a November 14 post on X.

how long will i hold bitcoin? ok how long do i plan to breathe? https://t.co/em2zLo3cqY

— OKUNG (@RussellOkung) November 13, 2024

Consequences of Trump’s electoral victory

The recent rally in Bitcoin prices came after Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 US presidential election. The rally attracted significant inflows into digital assets, with the cryptocurrency OG alone fetching 1.8 billion dollars, according to CoinShares’ weekly Digital Asset Fund Flows report.

The rally extended beyond Bitcoin, with Ethereum gaining $157 million in inflows and notable activity among altcoins such as Solana, Uniswap, XRP, and Tron.

Overall, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization reached a new all-time high of $3.12 trillion in early Asian trading on Tuesday, November 12. This surpassed the previous record of $3.08 trillion set nearly three years ago in November 2021.

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