new york, NY, USA — Now more than ever, professional athletes are empowering themselves to become better businesspeople, aiming to properly prepare themselves and their families for life after the game.

Smart investing decisions can make or break an athlete’s post-playing career, and when anyone is earning millions of dollars (let alone someone in their early 20s or even late teens), it’s easy to make mistakes. Athletes, like the rest of us, are looking to the future, hoping to determine what the next economic shift will look like down the road with the hopes of not missing the boat. Many believe that next economic shift will be cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Just as companies like Cloudbet are authoritatively entering the crypto space by allowing users to place bets entirely in cryptocurrency, so too are many pro athletes by converting portions of their salary or accepting sponsorship payments in cryptocurrency. The following are nine of the most notable athletes to make the shift:

NFL

Aaron Rodgers

Green Bay Packers quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers partnered with Cash App last November, accepting an undisclosed portion of his $33.5 million salary in bitcoin. “Bitcoin to the moon,” Rodgers said in a Twitter video announcing the partnership. “Bitcoin is a new concept, and it can be intimidating,” Rodgers cautioned, before adding he’d be giving out $1 million in bitcoin to his fans as well in order to make the cryptocurrency more accessible to his fans.

Odell Beckham Jr.

Just weeks after Rodgers announced his bitcoin deal, wide receiver and three-time Pro Bowler Odell Beckham Jr. announced a similar deal with Cash App, taking his new Los Angeles Rams salary (worth up to $4.25 million with incentives, all of which were later actualized when the Rams won the Super Bowl in February) in bitcoin. Beckham Jr. announced a $1 million BTC fan giveaway as well. “It’s the start of a new era,” he said in his Twitter video announcement. “I’m looking forward to the future.”

Saquon Barkley

New York Giants running back and former Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley announced last July he would be converting 100% of his income from endorsements and marketing deals into bitcoin via the payments app Strike. Barkley pointed to rising inflation as a reason for the shift. “We’re learning you can’t save wealth,” Barkley said on “The Best Business Show” when announcing his decision. He also said he was conscious of his lengthy injury history, and how important smart investing is for him because of that: “When you sit out of football for a whole year, you realize that this game could be taken away from you.” The Pro Bowler has inked endorsement deals with huge brands like Nike, Pepsi and Toyota, worth more than $10 million annually, according to sports business writer Joe Pompliano.

Trevor Lawrence

Last April, Cryptocurrency investing app Blockfolio signed then-ACC Athlete of the Year Trevor Lawrence to a multi-year endorsement deal days before he was taken No. 1 overall in the 2021 NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. In what was at the time a novel deal, all of Lawrence’s signing bonus was deposited directly into his Blockfolio account in the form of a variety of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ethereum and solana.

NBA

Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala

It’s only fitting that two of the athletes pushing blockchain tech forward happen to play for a Bay Area-based team. Golden State Warriors wings Thompson and Iguodala, key members of the Dubs’ dynasty over the past decade, also hopped on the Cash App bandwagon back in January, accepting portions of their salaries in bitcoin. Iguodala has made further strides in Silicon Valley since joining the Warriors in 2013—one of the first companies he invested in was acquired by eBay back in 2015.

Cade Cunningham

Much like Trevor Lawrence, Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham was already wising up and diving into crypto before playing a single game in the big leagumailto:[email protected]es. The Oklahoma State alum signed a deal with the cryptocurrency platform BlockFi last August—just a few weeks after he’d been selected No. 1 overall in the NBA draft. As part of the deal, Cunningham received his BlockFi signing bonus directly in bitcoin.

MLB

Shohei Ohtani

Los Angeles Angels pitcher/designated hitter extraordinaire Shohei Ohtani inked a deal with the cryptocurrency exchange company FTX, who deemed him “The Great Cryptohtani.” Ohtani became a global ambassador for the company, and accepted payment in the form of cryptocurrency along with FTX equity.

WWE

Summer Rae

In January, WWE pro wrestling superstar Summer Rae (real name Danielle Moinet) announced she will have part of her WWE Royal Rumble play converted into bitcoin, ethereum and litecoin, becoming one of the first known female athletes to accept part of her salary in cryptocurrency. “It’s a great way for me to save and for me to diversify my portfolio,” Rae said of crypto on Fox Business in January.

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