New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley announced on Wednesday that he will now receive all of his endorsement money through the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.
During an appearance on The Best Business Show, hosted by Anthony Pompliano, Barkley said, “I’m taking my marketing money in Bitcoin.”
“Now that I see [issues] with inflation and learning so much about Bitcoin … I think it would be the smart thing to do, the right thing to do, to start taking my investment money through Bitcoin,” Barkley continued.
Barkley also spoke about other professional athletes, including NBA superstars Kevin Durant and Lebron James as well as seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and how they have created “generational wealth.”
“When you see the KD’s, the Lebrons and Bradys of the world and you want to create generational wealth, you can’t do that with the sport that I play and the position that I play and coming off of injuries. When you sit out of football for a whole year you realize that this game could be taken away from you,” Barkley said.
According to Joe Pompliano, the founder of Huddle Up, which breaks down the business and money behind sports, Barkley’s endorsement money, which he will now receive in Bitcoin, is worth around $10 million annually.
BREAKING: Saquon Barkley has announced on The Best Business Show that he is taking 100% of his endorsement money in Bitcoin going forward.
That’s more than $10 million annually.
What a legend. pic.twitter.com/6gpQBewgMv
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) July 14, 2021
Earlier this year, the New York Giants announced a partnership with Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest cryptocurrency asset manager.
“We are excited to partner with Grayscale, who are innovative leaders in the digital currency market,” New York Giants Chief Commercial Officer Pete Guelli said in a statement in May. “During our extensive evaluation of the space, we determined that we not only wanted a partner that understood the value of aligning with the Giants brand, but also could guide us in navigating the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Grayscale quickly emerged as a company that shares our passion for the New York market but also has the institutional knowledge and network of partners that we can access as crypto continues to evolve.”
Barkley isn’t the first NFL player to become involved in Bitcoin, as former Carolina Panthers star Russel Okung also previously expressed interest in the popular cryptocurrency and announced that he was converting his salary into Bitcoin.
Okung also made headlines in June when he called out Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk over Bitcoin mining.
Musk was previously critical of Bitcoin mining’s energy use and in a billboard, Okung wrote, “STICK TO SPACE, ELON.”
According to MarketWatch, Tom Brady and his wife Gisele Bundchen also recently purchased an equity stake in FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange platform.
“This particular opportunity showed us the importance of educating people about the power of crypto while simultaneously giving back to our communities and planet. We have the chance to create something really special here, and I can’t wait to see what we’re able to do together,” Brady said in a statement released by FTX.
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