Everyone who invested in Bitcoin and stayed patient is now starting to reap those benefits. The famous cryptocurrency has been skyrocketing in recent days to a value of $88,299.70, according to coinmarketcap.com. Though many people might have multiple shares or just one, one person benefitting from the increase is former Carolina Panthers’ offensive tackle Russell Okung.
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Okung became the very first player to be paid in Bitcoin back in 2020 when he had the Panther pay half of his $13 million salary into the popular cryptocurrency. Though the move might have been a bit confusing at the time, Okung’s $6.5 million contract is now worth a reported $20 million.
Multiple outlets and reports have come in about Okung’s worth, which he has shared on his personal page, which he also uses to advocate for investing in cryptocurrency for current and former players.
As stated, Okung may have taken a massive gamble with half of his contract going into cryptocurrency, which has been volatile, to say the least — he is now worth a lot of money.
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Okung was drafted No. 6 overall by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2010 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma. He spent the 2010 to 2015 seasons with the Seahawks, helping the team win a Super Bowl in the 2013 season.
After his stint with the Seahawks, Okung chose to “represent himself” as a free agent. He would eventually sign a one-year deal with the Denver Broncos that was worth $5 million.
The Broncos would eventually decline the additional four-year, $48 million option that Okung had built for himself, leading to his being a free agent once again in 2017. During the 2017 season, Okung signed a four-year, $53 million contract with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Following the 2019 season, Okung was traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2020. It was then that he worked out the deal to have $6.5 million of his contract with the Panthers to be paid in Bitcoin.
Okung announced his official retirement from the NFL in June 2023. He may have walked away from the game, but he made one of the best deals of his career by asking for his contract to be paid in cryptocurrency.
Now, according to multiple reports, that initial $6.5 million contract has ballooned to a value of $20 million in the last week or so with Bitcoin jumping up in value. Time will tell if that value will begin to skyrocket even more, and Okung’s investment could be worth even more money.
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