Carolina Panthers striker Russell Okung is about to make some history off the field. He became the first NFL player to have part of his contract paid in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency.
Okung’s configuration comes through Zap, a bitcoin application founded by Jack Mallers. Zap’s Strike product will take Okung’s paychecks and convert them to bitcoin. According to Yahoo Finance, the Panthers’ offensive attack will have half of its $ 13 million annual salary paid in bitcoin.
That choice didn’t come out of nowhere for Okung. In May 2019, Okung tweeted your desire to be paid in bitcoin. He updated that oldest tweet on Tuesday.
“Money is more than money; it is power”, Okung said in a statement. “The way money is handled, from creation to dissemination, is part of that power. Being paid in Bitcoin is the first step out of the corrupt and manipulated economy that we all live in.”
As it all works, The Strike product will receive a direct deposit from the Panthers. They will then exchange the dollar amount for bitcoin and give him Okung.
Okung is certainly not the first professional athlete to dive into the world of crpytocurrency. Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie and unidentified members of the New York Yankees received their wages in bitcoin, according to Yahoo.