The NFL is one of the most competitive leagues in the world when it comes to player salary. The average annual salary of an NFL athlete is around $2.7 million USD a year. The league's top salary goes to Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks, who made $35 million in 2019.
However, many NFL contracts also include what's known as a 'signing bonus', which is a lump sum of money guaranteed to the player from the beginning to the end of their contract. In the case of Russell Wilson, his annual salary is supplemented by a $107 million signing bonus.
A recent trend has begun·within the NFL in which players are requesting pay through cryptocurrency. Though Wilson isn't one of the athletes to begin requesting his salary be paid in Bitcoin or another currency,·others are.
Growing List of Interested Players
Since Bitcoin emerged in 2009, the famous cryptocurrency has steadily become more popular in the US. As more Silicon Valley startups began incorporating both crypto and blockchain to their platforms, decentralized forms of banking became more common amongst those associated with the booming tech industry.
Since then, more and more athletes have sought to secure their massive incomes through responsible forms of venture capitalism. In other words, they want to make their money outlasts their time in the NFL.
Richard Sherman of the San Francisco 49ers, Matt Barkley of the Buffalo Bills, and Oren Burks of the Green Bay Packers have all shown interest in being compensated in cryptocurrency. Barkley, who recently moved from the San Francisco 49ers to the Buffalo Bills, is already mining his own cryptocurrency'though that doesn't put him closer to an NFL salary paid in Bitcoin.
If Barkley, who played in 2020's Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs, can make it to another Championship, his franchise may acquiesce. Unfortunately for Barkley, NFL betting odds for the regular season are already in, and the Silicon Valley franchise has better odds than his new team in New York.
Meanwhile, players like Russell Okung (who's also the vice-president of the NFL's Players Association), have taken to tweeting in order to raise awareness for a switch in salary currency. For example, in May of 2019, Okung·simply tweeted, 'Pay me in Bitcoin.'
Making a Play for the NFLPA·
If anyone is able to sway the NFL to begin paying out salaries in cryptocurrency, it's Okung. As vice-president of the NFLPA, he's in an unprecedented position to not only represent the interest of players, but to also engage with third-party outlets and other partners of the league.
Through social media, Okung has begun to reach out to partners·of the NFL·as well as the public at large to promote the crypto 'revolution'. Given that most major sports leagues make the bulk of their money through major broadcasting contracts, Okung's likely on the right track by calling out broadcasters like ESPN.
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Cryptocurrency and NFL Fans
The intersection of cryptocurrency and the NFL doesn't end with players. Both the league itself and individual franchises are beginning to use crypto and blockchain to improve fan experience and corporate efficiency.
Blockchain is being used to protect and encrypt retail and ticket sales, providing safer platforms for fans to engage with their franchise as well as to protect franchises from piracy and counterfeiting.
In July of 2019, the Miami Dolphins became the first NFL franchise to partner with a cryptocurrency: Litecoin. This is revolutionizing the way Dolphins fans interact with their team, as well as changing the standard fare at Hard Rock Stadium.
Fans are able to pay with Litecoin and Bitcoin through a third-party company, Aliant Payments, which helps to facilitate the transaction. Unfortunately for Dolphins fans who are big into crypto, Litecoin and Bitcoin can only be used as part of the Litecoin Foundation.
The Miami Dolphins' Litecoin foundation is a 50/50 raffle that gives half its proceeds to the Miami Dolphins Foundation, which is a charitable organization. Though this isn't the type of fully-integrated cryptocurrency platform that fans and players are looking for, it's a strong start.
