Odell Beckham Jr. Received $750,000 in Bitcoin
Doubles to $1.5 Million in Four Years...
"Satisfied With My Decision"
An NFL star who previously received his salary in Bitcoin is reported to have made a significant profit after four years. This has renewed interest in the sports industry regarding the method of receiving salaries in virtual assets.
Odell Beckham Jr. signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021, agreeing to receive a maximum annual salary of $4.25 million (approximately 5.8 billion KRW). Of this, he agreed to receive a base salary of $750,000 (approximately 1 billion KRW) in Bitcoin.
At the time of the contract, the price of Bitcoin was about $64,000 per coin, which was near the peak of the virtual asset market. Because of this, his choice was criticized by market experts as "the worst timing" and "reckless." Soon after, the "crypto winter" of 2022 arrived, and the price of Bitcoin plummeted below $20,000, making these concerns seem justified.
However, the situation has reversed as the price of Bitcoin has recently surged again. Currently, Bitcoin is trading between approximately $116,000 and $119,000 per coin, reaching an all-time high.
As a result, the Bitcoin that Beckham received, worth $750,000 at the time, is now estimated to have grown to between approximately $1.47 million (about 2.02 billion KRW) and nearly $1.5 million. Even after taxes, the amount he could actually receive exceeds $1.1 million. This is up to nearly three times higher than what he would have received in cash.
On July 17, Beckham posted a Bitcoin chart on his social media, saying, "Another all-time high today. I am satisfied with my decision," and added, "You should get paid in Bitcoin, too."
Beckham was not the first NFL player to receive his salary in Bitcoin. In 2020, Russell Okung of the Carolina Panthers also received half of his annual salary, $6.5 million, in Bitcoin. If he has not sold it to date, its value is estimated to have grown to more than $22 million (about 3.03 billion KRW).
Industry experts view these cases as both experiments with new salary models and as risk strategies aimed at high returns. However, due to the high volatility of the market, not every case will be as successful as Beckham's, and a cautious approach is advised.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
