The stuff of the legends! Tom Brady has always been that guy. His resilient mindset has elevated him to the status of the GOAT. We saw this when he suddenly started advertising Bitcoin and demanded a percentage of his salary to be paid in Bitcoin. That was the start of a new era.
Russell Okung, the 2014 Super Bowl winner, always believed in the change of things. So when he was signed by the Panthers, he requested that they pay 50% of his $13 million salary in Bitcoin. When the Panthers accepted, he became the first guy to be paid in Bitcoin. He was the one who inspired the next generation, including Tom Brady.
Former NFL player Russell Okung got paid $6.5 million of his 2020 salary in #Bitcoin when it was worth around around $28,000
His Bitcoin is now worth $20 MILLION. 👊😎 pic.twitter.com/hM8PW2lwAZ
— Bitcoin Archive (@BTC_Archive) November 11, 2024
The public was also excited when they found out about this. Mike Williams, a writer and entrepreneur, rightly said, “While you are all playing football, Russell Okung is playing chess.” And that happened just four years later. In November 2024, the offensive tackle announced that his $6.5 million had grown to $20 million. This is the thing about keeping ahead of the curve and the constant changes in society about traditional money.
TB12 also wanted the same style of growth for his contract money as well. And requested his franchise owners to pay him in bitcoin but that didn’t happen. Years later, he became one of the most vocal supporters of cryptocurrency and even promoted many firms like FTX.
He has tried his best to make money from the crypto world but hasn’t been very lucky.
Has Tom Brady also lost money in the crypto world?
“I don’t think it’s going anywhere. it’s definitely something I am going to be in for a long time,” said Brady during an interview with FTX founder Sam Bankman Freid. He was so much into the digital money world that he and his then-wife, Gisele Bundchen, advertised for the company.
He received almost $30 million, but when the company crashed, his stocks in the company became negligible without any real value. But just like he never gave up on the field, he didn’t give up on life as well. He has also made money from selling NFT through the online platform Autograph.
This made many players understand the growing impact of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Rob Gronkowski and Saquon Barkley also followed the legend. While the TE made 1.6 million dollars in revenue by selling his NFD card collection on Open Sea, the RB understood that he has to learn how to manage money after missing the most of 2020 season because of an ACL injury and revealed that he would also convert his marketing money into Bitcoin.
As more and more players are opening up to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, the general perception is also changing. More and more people are coming to invest in such models. Everyone hasn’t had the same success, but most of them are happy with the growth. Stay tuned for more of such interesting stories.