Ex-Carolina Panthers Player Russell Okung’s 2020 Bitcoin Paycheck Could Now Be Worth $21 Million
With Bitcoin surging past $88,000, Okung’s choice to be paid in crypto back in 2020 has massively paid off.
If retired Carolina Panthers player Russell Okung held onto the 240 Bitcoin purchased in lieu of half of his 2020 salary until today, he would be sitting on over $20.9 million. If.
Chances are, he’s sitting pretty: In May 2021, amid a decline in Bitcoin’s value, Okung reaffirmed his commitment to the crypto, stating on Twitter at the time, “Y’all don’t get it. I am not selling my Bitcoin, ever.”
Since then, he has not publicly disclosed any changes to his Bitcoin investment strategy. Decrypt has reached out to Okung on that point.
In December 2020, Okung generated headlines when he announced he would take half of his $13 million salary, about $6.5 million, in Bitcoin.
“Money is more than currency; it’s power,” Okung told CNBC at the time. “The way money is handled from creation to dissemination is part of that power. Getting paid in bitcoin is the first step of opting out of the corrupt, manipulated economy we all inhabit.”