Crypto sports: Which athletes are paid in crypto?

The use of technology in the sports industry

Sports have gone a long way from being just athletic competitions to a thriving industry that employs millions of people and generates a huge revenue. If you take into account all aspects of professional sports such as events, infrastructure, training and retail sales, you can see it is a really big industry. 

Despite its width and popularity, the sports world amounts to one of the most traditional industries which is not a bad thing- after all, it needs to keep up with a healthy level of competition between pro athletes. 

On the other hand, sports teams and organisations started to embrace technology; for example, athletes are using new technological developments to improve their performance such as performance-tracking sensors.  

For example, technological innovations such as the shot clock in basketball, the goal line, and the video-assisted referee (VAR) technology in football as well as the hawk-eye in tennis have made it much easier for all participants to adhere to rules. The use of technology in sports attracted many investors, and some of the biggest tech companies entered the space rapidly. 

However, the sports world has been plagued by certain affairs related to corruption, poor management as well as counterfeit issues, and sparked a debate about whether a decentralised infrastructure should replace a centralised system that is transparent and tamper-proof. 

If you're interested in learning more about the importance of blockchain technology in the event ticketing process and what happened with NFT tickets and the 2024 Paris Olympics, we suggest reading this article: 'Blockchain vs Counterfeit: Redefining event ticket security'.

Then came crypto...

Now that technology, frequently referred to as ‘sports tech’, is widely used in the sports industry, it was a matter of time before crypto came to the scene. Many crypto supporters think that soon all major sports applications will accept cryptocurrencies. 

However, crypto already has several important utilities in the sports world; it helps sports teams and organisations with launching more creative fan engagement and loyalty programs by setting out their very own tokens. On the other hand, event organisers are talking about blockchain technology’s potential to boost ticketing and merchandise sales more securely.  

Since this article is about professional athletes being paid in crypto, it is important to state that cryptocurrency and blockchain technology assumed an important role in transforming the way athletes’ contracts and transfers are being dealt with.

In addition to being paid in crypto, the implementation of smart contracts means that negotiations and executions of sports contracts could be streamlined and minimise the risk of potential disputes. 

Crypto newcomers are often told that education is the most important thing when dealing with cryptocurrency. That's why we have prepared interesting courses suited for beginners- check out our Learn Crypto Academy to find out more.

What's in it for fans?

When you mention sports fans and crypto, it usually comes down to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and fan tokens issued by clubs and pro athletes to increase engagement. 

As for NFTs in the world of sports, they turned out to be successful as many sports teams have launched their NFT collections such as the NBA team Golden State Warriors.

In addition to tokens, blockchain technology has been used within the sports betting area. Users can bet on the outcomes of games and get paid in cryptocurrency. Users benefit from a higher degree of security as well.

Organisations in the sports world embracing cryptocurrency

Let’s start with the NBA – the above mentioned Golden State Warriors enabled two of their players, Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson, to receive a portion of their salaries in Bitcoin via Cash App. There are a few other NBA players who wanted to be paid in Bitcoin which will be explained in the pro athletes’ list below. 

In the NBA, the presence and acceptance of crypto is definitely growing. The relationship between the NBA and crypto is not something new- the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers play at Crypto.com arena while Miami Heat used to play at the FTX arena before the exchange’s bankruptcy. 

The NFL also embraced crypto and enabled several players to get paid in crypto. In fact, the NFL seems to have the highest number of professional athletes that accept their salaries in Bitcoin, and most of them receive it through the Cash App. 

It is often mentioned that UFC fighters are underpaid, but things could change with crypto entering. Back in 2022, the UFC announced a partnership with Crypto.com, and the part of that deal was to give out three fighter bonuses in Bitcoin, voted on by fans, for each event.

Which professional athletes are paid in crypto?

Several pro athletes wanted to be paid in Bitcoin. Even though it was criticised at first by sports organisations, they embraced crypto and allowed athletes to receive a part of their salary or entire salary in Bitcoin. This list is a breakdown of the pro athletes earning with cryptocurrency.

Lionel Messi

When Lionel Messi, one of the highest-paid athletes in the world, signed for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, a part of the new contract implied that he would be partially paid in $PSG Fan Tokens. These are a type of crypto assets that enable holders to access certain club benefits such as rewards and voting. When Messi signed the contract, the value of a single fan token was approximately $60. 

Apart from receiving fan tokens, Messi managed to strike several endorsement deals with crypto companies. For example, in 2022 Messi signed an agreement worth more than $20 million to promote the digital fan token firm Socios.com. 

In 2024, Messi decided to endorse another cryptocurrency called $TIME on his Instagram account. This is a Solana-based token that came to the crypto market in July 2024. Thanks to Messi’s endorsement, the token gained a lot of attention.

Odell Beckham Jr.

In 2021, the NFL wide receiver shared a tweet that he would get his entire salary in Bitcoin as part of a deal with Cash App. At that time, he was playing for the Los Angeles Rams and Bitcoin was hitting all-time highs and breaking records.  

Even though it was a great decision back then, the value of Bitcoin plummeted in 2022 which is unfortunate for Beckham’s revenue. Allegedly, Beckham’s salary is now worth $413,000 as opposed to the past $750,000, excluding taxes.  

Trevor Lawrence

The number one pick in the 2021 NFL draft, Trevor Lawrence, converted his signing bonus with the Jacksonville Jaguars into cryptocurrency in partnership with Blockfolio, an investment application. As reported, the athlete's portfolio encompasses Bitcoin, Solana, and Ethereum. 

Even though Lawrence’s contract wasn’t publicly revealed, his bonuses were estimated to be worth around $24 million.

Andre Iguodala

Andre Iguodala announced in January 2022 that he is getting a part of his salary in Bitcoin. Similar to other athletes, the Golden State Warriors player partnered with Cash App to convert his earnings into cryptocurrency with the promise to give away $1 million worth of Bitcoins to fans. 

Sean Culkin

Back in April 2021, Sean Culkin came up with the idea to convert his entire salary to Bitcoin. He made headlines as the first NFL player to take his entire salary to crypto. 

The athlete also stated that Bitcoin is the future of finance and that he believes that the cryptocurrency will continue to grow over time. Culkin claimed that he had done his research and that he saw that Bitcoin was growing at an exponential rate.

Russell Okung

Russell Okung, who won a Super Bowl while playing for the Seattle Seahawks and was traded later to the Carolina Panthers, was one of the first athletes to embrace crypto assets since he announced in 2020 that he would be taking half of his salary in Bitcoin. 

A year before his announcement, Okung used to tweet about receiving payments in Bitcoin, so it seems that his wish came true.

Cade Cunningham

The NBA star Cade Cunningham signed a multi-year deal with the crypto platform BlockFi in 2021, just after being selected by the Detroit Pistons. The player agreed to cooperate with the platform to produce educational videos while doing promotional work and interviews. However, it remained unclear how much of his salary would be converted into Bitcoin. 

Shohei Ohtani

The Los Angeles Angels baseball player Shohei Ohtani partnered up with the infamous cryptocurrency company FTX Trading in 2021. The player’s deal included getting paid in crypto as well as obtaining an equity stake in the company.  

Ohtani is one of the highest-paid professional players in North America and also appears to be one of the highest-paid athletes in the world. 

However, when the FTX scandal broke out and the court proceedings started, the baseball player was a part of the lawsuit, next to other famous defendants such as Naomi Osaka, the Golden State Warriors, Larry David, and Stephen Curry who were accused of luring consumers into investing billions of dollars into the FTX platform and keeping the scheme afloat. 

Klay Thompson

Another NBA star decided to accept a paycheck in Bitcoin. You have heard the details already: A pro athlete receives a portion of his salary in Bitcoin after partnering up with CashApp.Golden State Warriors player Klay Thompson and his teammate Andre Iguodala joined the crypto bandwagon back in 2022.  

Just like other athletes, Thompson posted the announcement on social media.

How can pro athletes' exposure help crypto?

The crypto market is still a volatile one which is a risk itself; it is also filled with schemes and frauds – just look at the FTX affair and subsequent legal proceedings. As always, educate yourself and stay updated.  

However, athletes accepting a portion of their paycheck or the entire salary in crypto truly helped the crypto movement. Sports can be described as a common language that links people worldwide, and it is one of the fastest ways to send public messages, especially when it comes to high-profile athletes.

Pro athletes have a global reach and their recognition of cryptocurrency can incentivise an average individual to use it. Even though crypto managed to acquire institutional adoption on a higher scale, it still needed a way to get to a common individual and get their trust. That is what the sports industry can do for crypto.