In 2021, we saw for the first time situations where professional athletes asked their employers to allow them to convert their salaries or part of their salaries to bitcoin. Those athletes were viewed as trendsetters. Cutting-edge. Forward-thinking visionaries.
They are now hoping they aren’t referred to as something else; cautionary tails.
Case in point, Rams superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who signed with the Rams in November after being cut by the Cleveland Browns.
OBJ made headlines when he said he would convert his 2021 Rams salary into bitcoin, and he was set to make $750,000 in salary, plus a bunch of bonuses if he were to perform well on the field.
Beckham said in November that he would convert his $750k into bitcoins through a deal with Cash App. Here’s what he tweeted on November 22.
It’s a NEW ERA & to kick that off I’m hyped to announce that I’m taking my new salary in bitcoin thanks to @CashApp. To ALL MY FANS out there, no matter where u r: THANK YOU! I’m giving back a total of $1M in BTC rn too. Drop your $cashtag w. #OBJBTC & follow @CashApp NOW https://pic.twitter.com/ds1IgZ1zup
According to The Action Network, bitcoin was valued at $64,158 when he signed. Since then, it has dropped 46.55%.
If one were to assume that Beckham did convert the lump sum of $750,000 into bitcoin, it would now be worth just over $400,000.
Here’s the problem; his tax rate would be based on the $750k value. And on top of federal income tax, Beckham is not in Ohio anymore; he’s in California, home of the highest state income-tax rates in the U.S. He would be taxed in Cali at a 12.4% rate.
It’s unknown if Beckham did convert the entire $750,000 into bitcoin, but if he did, Darren Rovell of the Action Network reported that $750,000 salary is worth $35,000 after all taxes are taken in.
College football players make more money than that.
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