Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers announced on Monday that he would be accepting a portion of his salary in Bitcoin, joining several other professional athletes in accepting the popular cryptocurrency as a form of payment.
“I’m excited about the future of cryptocurrency, and am a big believer in Bitcoin. So much so that I’ve chosen to take a large portion of my salary in Bitcoin, thanks to the help of Cash App,” Rodgers said in a statement. “Cryptocurrency is a new concept to many and can be intimidating to understand.”
In addition to Rodgers, several other professional athletes have also announced partnerships with cryptocurrency trading applications.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady also recently announced that he purchased an equity stake in the popular cryptocurrency trading platform, FTX.
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley recently announced that he was accepting his endorsement payments in Bitcoin. “I’m taking my marketing money in Bitcoin,” Barkley said during an interview on The Best Business Show, hosted by Anthony Pompliano.
Barkley is using the the cryptocurrency application Strike to receive his endorsement money through Bitcoin. The founder and CEO of Strike, Jack Mallers, told Newsweek that anyone can use the application to receive their direct deposit paycheck through Bitcoin, just like Barkley.
Mallers told Newsweek that he believes the more athletes that invest in Bitcoin and take it as a form of payment will help “instill confidence in the everyday person,” to do the same.
“I think it’s definitely a net benefit,” Mallers said in regard to more professional athletes accepting their paycheck in Bitcoin. “Bitcoin is a cultural phenomenon, it’s very appealing. There’s an overlap in their fanbase.”
“I think [professional athletes] like to think of themselves as cultural leaders. They have a significant impact on the way people dress, what people do on weekends, everyone buys their jerseys. I think it’s a way for them to connect with their fans and they see themselves as leaders and taking a leadership position saying ‘I believe in this technology,'” Mallers added.
Mallers also told Newsweek that the increase of professional athletes and celebrities becoming invested in Bitcoin showed that Bitcoin is “a very appealing option,” as a method of saving money.
“Bitcoin, in a weird way, unites your favorite NFL player and your favorite musician and your favorite politician,” Mallers told Newsweek. “It transcends race, culture, border, profession, wealth and class. Aaron Rodgers is saving in the same thing that I am and that’s very unique.”
While speaking with Newsweek, Glenn Goodman, author of The Crypto Trader and cryptocurrency contributing expert for the London School of Economics, said that he thinks there’s a “big effort in the industry to really ramp up the excitement about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.”
“The positive thing is the more people that are buying cryptocurrencies, generally, whether it’s Bitcoin or one of the other ones, it’s all good for the industry in the longer term,” Goodman said. “More people buying cryptocurrencies brings more people into the industry which then pays software developers with that money to make useful products and to make the world, hopefully, a better place.”
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