Odell Beckham, Jr. (OBJ) had a messy breakup with the Cleveland Browns in 2021. The Los Angeles Rams brought the wide receiver (WR) on board for a year with a salary of $750,000. As Bitcoin was valued at $64,293 per unit at the time, OBJ opted to take his salary in crypto instead of cash.
Enter the Champions
Things got off to a bright start in the City of Angels. The Rams emerged as the Super Bowl champions, but OBJ suffered a torn ACL during the big game. This injury has caused him to miss the first half of the 2022-2023 NFL season.
That has not been the only bad news for OBJ. Due to the crypto meltdown between May-June of 2022, the value of Bitcoin has plummeted. As of today, November 23, one unit of the cryptocurrency is valued at $16,685.30.
Odell Beckham Jr. Paying Taxes & BTC Lost Value
Essentially, that $750,000 is now valued somewhere around $200,000 or less. OBJ is still being taxed on his initial salary amount. Between federal and California state takes, that’s just over 50%. The math works out to $200,000-$375,000, meaning OBJ is paying the NFL roughly $175,000 to finish up his contract.
OBJ is not the only athlete who elected to take their salary in cryptocurrency. Brazilian UFC fighter Luana Pinheiro, NBA Champions Klay Thompson and teammate Andre Igoudala each requested portions of her salary in Bitcoin. This is in collaboration with Bitwage, a company specializing in crypto payroll services.
Legendary baseball team, the New York Yankees, have partnered with NYDIG to offer players, accountants, and even concession workers to be compensated with Bitcoin. NFL defensive end Alejandro “Alex Barrett” (San Francisco 49ers) and WWE sensation Summer Rae have also requested to be paid their 2022 salary in Bitcoin.
Beckham’s contract is ending very soon. As the WR is due to sign on with another team by the end of this month, one can only hope he makes a different decision when it comes to salary negotiations!
