NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. takes a victory lap, but not on the field. The Miami Dolphins player took to X, formerly Twitter, to celebrate Bitcoin's price hitting $100,000 in early December.
Upon signing with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021, Beckham inked a deal with Block Inc.'s Cash App. to receive his $750,000 salary in bitcoin. The price was $64,158 on the day he converted it, according to data from The Action Network cited by Morningstar. The website says that if he were to move the $750,000 into bitcoin at once, it would be worth about $1,168,900 at its current value of about $100,000.
At the time, it was noted that this may not have been a wise financial decision due to the volatility of the virtual currency. MarketWatch asked: “How much did it end up costing him?” The world's most popular cryptocurrency lost 74% of its value between November 2021 and November 2022, justifying some of its critics' concerns.
However, the recent upturn has pushed the pendulum the other way. “Soooo who said taking my Rams salary in bitcoin was stupid again?” Beckham posted on X in November.
While it is unclear whether the athlete kept his bitcoin over the three-year period, it seems reasonable to assume that his gamble paid off. He also appears to have an endorsement deal with Cash App, tweeting last month: “I'm still working with @CashApp to get my paycheck in bitcoin.”
The story is reminiscent of graffiti artist David Choe's decision to collect his $60,000 payment for painting Facebook's office in the tech giant's stock. That was in 2005. In 2012, Facebook went public and according to CNBC, Choe's stock options were worth more than $200 million.
Sometimes making long-term bets on assets that are considered risky can lead to massive wealth creation. It can also turn out terribly and be extremely costly, so always take the time to determine your own risk tolerance level and maintain a diversified portfolio.
If you're as confident in Bitcoin as Beckham is, here's how to invest.
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