Dubbed as the first crypto deal in the National Football League (NFL), the Dallas Cowboys have chosen cryptocurrency platform Blockchain.com as its “exclusive digital asset partner.”
As part of the strategic partnership, the Cowboys will get exclusive fan rewards and experiences, such as player-hosted events and away game VIP trips via Blockchain.com’s digital wallet.
Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner, president, and general manager welcomed the collaboration and said:
“Blockchain.com is one of the oldest and most trusted digital asset platforms in the world, has easy-to-use products and remains relentlessly focused on customers.”
He added:
“They are bringing Wall Street to Main Street by making digital assets available to anyone, anywhere in the world – and that’s a touchdown for our millions of global fans. We take pride in being the first team in the NFL to sign an official cryptocurrency partnership and are proud to venture into this innovative business with Blockchain.com.”
With a customer base of more than 80 million spread across 200 countries, Blockchain.com will get club space inside AT&T Stadium and advertising and branding opportunities through the partnership.
Blockchain.com has aided transactions worth more than $1.2 trillion, and the collaboration will join communities online and virtually through social media promotions.
Peter Smith, Blockchain.com’s CEO, stated:
“We chose to partner with the Cowboys because they represent the most trusted brand in professional sports, they compete with a champion mindset, and believe in long-term partnerships.”
More crypto deals continue penetrating the sporting arena. For instance, crypto exchange Crypto.com signed a five-year partnership agreement with the Australian Football League (AFL) worth $25 million earlier this month, Blockchain.News reported.
Dubbed as the first crypto deal in the National Football League (NFL), the Dallas Cowboys have chosen cryptocurrency platform Blockchain.com as its “exclusive digital asset partner.”
As part of the strategic partnership, the Cowboys will get exclusive fan rewards and experiences, such as player-hosted events and away game VIP trips via Blockchain.com’s digital wallet.
Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner, president, and general manager welcomed the collaboration and said:
“Blockchain.com is one of the oldest and most trusted digital asset platforms in the world, has easy-to-use products and remains relentlessly focused on customers.”
He added:
“They are bringing Wall Street to Main Street by making digital assets available to anyone, anywhere in the world – and that’s a touchdown for our millions of global fans. We take pride in being the first team in the NFL to sign an official cryptocurrency partnership and are proud to venture into this innovative business with Blockchain.com.”
With a customer base of more than 80 million spread across 200 countries, Blockchain.com will get club space inside AT&T Stadium and advertising and branding opportunities through the partnership.
Blockchain.com has aided transactions worth more than $1.2 trillion, and the collaboration will join communities online and virtually through social media promotions.
Peter Smith, Blockchain.com’s CEO, stated:
“We chose to partner with the Cowboys because they represent the most trusted brand in professional sports, they compete with a champion mindset, and believe in long-term partnerships.”
More crypto deals continue penetrating the sporting arena. For instance, crypto exchange Crypto.com signed a five-year partnership agreement with the Australian Football League (AFL) worth $25 million earlier this month, Blockchain.News reported.
National Football League (NFL) announced Monday that the NFL 2024 draft will be held on April 24 at Matthews Campus Park in downtown Detroit, and began seeking blockchain sponsorship deals this week.
Currently, teams are still banned from cryptocurrency sponsorships. However, NFL clubs are allowed to seek blockchain sponsorships through platforms like Coinbase and FTX.
Reportedly, the revenue from NFL’s sponsorship has been reached nearly $2 billion in the 2021 season, and sponsorships related to the blockchain industry in the next season will exceed last year’s total sponsorship amount.
The possible deals could attract multiple partners to boost the business development, rights including the NFL’s “official digital wallet” and “official blockchain” partners, said NFL chief revenue officer Rennie Anderson.
In a bid to commemorate the return of the League to Los Angeles in more than 30 years, the NFL is set to gift virtual commemorative tickets in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Rennie Anderson called NFTs an “endless opportunity” and said the NFL is still learning the technology.
“I think we’ll learn a lot about the use cases about how it can transform our future,” Anderson said.
Crypto looks attractive to athletes as well. As reported by blockchain.News on November 23 last year, NFL star Odell Beckham Jr has become the latest high-profile athlete to accept his remuneration in Bitcoin from his team Los Angeles Rams.
In a bid to commemorate the return of the National Football League (NFL) to Los Angeles in more than 30 years, the NFL is set to gift virtual commemorative tickets in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The NFL has had quite a good run collaborating and incorporating NFTs to help improve the experience of its fans, particularly those that can attend its organized games.
The fans who will receive the NFTs will be those who attend the game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. According to the current plan to give fans free NFTs, each eligible fan who attends Super Bowl LVI will receive a complimentary, customized NFT featuring their unique section, row, and seat to commemorate gameday, providing a digital keepsake from their Super Bowl experience.
“We first began offering virtual commemorative ticket NFTs to fans during the regular season. We witnessed great success with this one-of-a-kind fan experience, which provided the momentum to continue this program throughout the postseason and ultimately at Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles,” said Bobby Gallo, SVP, Club Business Development, NFL.
“Collecting ticket stubs has always been something our fans love to do, especially for the season’s biggest game, and offering customized Super Bowl NFTs allows us to enhance the gameday experience, while also enabling us to further evaluate the NFT space for future ticketing and event engagement opportunities.”
The NFL started issuing free NFTs to game attendees back in 2021 when it gave out a total of 250,000 collectables overall. In addition to these, a limited number of NFTs were also made available for purchases.
NFTs are now becoming the favourite tool for sports teams to engage with their fans digitally. Most sports teams now issue out fan tokens, a unique form of tokens that gives holders exclusive access to decide some events in the club. Spearheaded mostly by Chiliz and Socios.com, top clubs like Barcelona FC, Juventus FC, and Paris Saint Germain (PSG) are amongst those that have launchedtheir club tokens in recent times.
In a bid to commemorate the return of the National Football League (NFL) to Los Angeles in more than 30 years, the NFL is set to gift virtual commemorative tickets in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The NFL has had quite a good run collaborating and incorporating NFTs to help improve the experience of its fans, particularly those that can attend its organized games.
The fans who will receive the NFTs will be those who attend the game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. According to the current plan to give fans free NFTs, each eligible fan who attends Super Bowl LVI will receive a complimentary, customized NFT featuring their unique section, row, and seat to commemorate gameday, providing a digital keepsake from their Super Bowl experience.
“We first began offering virtual commemorative ticket NFTs to fans during the regular season. We witnessed great success with this one-of-a-kind fan experience, which provided the momentum to continue this program throughout the postseason and ultimately at Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles,” said Bobby Gallo, SVP, Club Business Development, NFL.
“Collecting ticket stubs has always been something our fans love to do, especially for the season’s biggest game, and offering customized Super Bowl NFTs allows us to enhance the gameday experience, while also enabling us to further evaluate the NFT space for future ticketing and event engagement opportunities.”
The NFL started issuing free NFTs to game attendees back in 2021 when it gave out a total of 250,000 collectables overall. In addition to these, a limited number of NFTs were also made available for purchases.
NFTs are now becoming the favourite tool for sports teams to engage with their fans digitally. Most sports teams now issue out fan tokens, a unique form of tokens that gives holders exclusive access to decide some events in the club. Spearheaded mostly by Chiliz and Socios.com, top clubs like Barcelona FC, Juventus FC, and Paris Saint Germain (PSG) are amongst those that have launchedtheir club tokens in recent times.
For NFL fans, 2021 was a great year. Stadiums returned to capacity crowds after the 2020 season was shortened with limited attendance. Stadium parking lots were again filled with the enthusiastic anticipation of tailgaters and their barbequed camaraderie.
It was also a great year for Bitcoin (BTC) investors as the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization reached all-time high prices multiple times throughout 2021, eventually topping out at $69,000 in early November. This led to a dramatic increase in media coverage of Bitcoin.
Seven NFL players in 2021 decided to call the audible and begin either being paid in crypto or having their cash salary partially converted to crypto. These players have capitalized on the return of the regular season and the increased profitability of Bitcoin.
Aaron Rodgers
The reigning 2020 NFL MVP announced via a Nov. 1 video post on Twitter that he was partnering with Cash App payment service to accept a portion of his salary in Bitcoin. Rodgers will earn roughly $22.3 million this year.
The video depicted Rodgers dressed as John Wick for a Halloween party. If that wasn’t strange enough, likely by design, Rodgers also told viewers that he would donate $1 million in BTC.
In Rodgers’ case, he will have a portion of his salary sent to his Cash App account, which he will then use to buy BTC.
The Twitter profile for the star quarterback for the Green Bay Packers features a picture of himself on the field during a game with the iconic laser eyes, further signaling his support for BTC.
Tom Brady
Tom Brady is another very high-profile NFL star quarterback who dabbled heavily in cryptocurrency in 2021. Brady has not yet said that he is being paid in BTC by the NFL, but he will be paid in crypto by FTX exchange after he took an equity stake in Sam Bankman-Fried’s exchange, and will serve as a brand ambassador.
Brady has not reserved himself to crypto assets alone, however. The iconic football star launched his own NFT platform, called Autograph, in April to attract the top talent in sports, entertainment, fashion and pop culture.
Tom Brady getting into Crypto was a top signal pic.twitter.com/hc6qxQou9o
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) October 20, 2021
It doesn’t end there for Brady and crypto, though. Late in October, Brady threw the 600th passing touchdown of his career, marking an all-time high for the NFL, and helping to secure Brady’s position as the all-time leading touchdown passer in the league’s history. Brady paid 1 BTC to the fan who was initially given the ball by the receiver who completed the touchdown.
That BTC was worth about $62,000 at the time of the game, but the ball itself may be worth over $500,000 according to Goldin Auctions sports memorabilia auction company.
Odell Beckham Jr.
Odell Beckham Jr. (OBJ) followed in Aaron Rodgers’ footsteps by announcing late in November that he had partnered with Cash App to receive his salary from the NFL in BTC. His contract stipulates that he should receive about $4.25 million from the NFL this season.
The Los Angeles Rams’ wide receiver told fans that he would give back $1 million in BTC as part of his new partnership with Cash App. Beckham appears to be no stranger to the crypto and NFT scene as his Twitter profile dons a Crypto Punk NFT.
In case you haven’t noticed, Jack Dorsey’s Cash App is involved with both OBJ’s and Aaron Rodgers’ BTC salary deal. The payment service app has had a great 2021 through the first three quarters of the year by raking in nearly $10 billion in revenue from 36 million active users and 100 million downloads.
Trevor Lawrence
The Carolina Panthers’ new star quarterback joined the ranks of NFL superstars who are publicly accepting crypto payments. Lawrence’s deal, however, is not with the NFL directly. The 2021 NFL top draft pick’s crypto salary comes from an endorsement deal with the crypto portfolio app FTX (formerly Blockfolio).
Congrats on being the #1 pick @Trevorlawrencee!
We’ve got a surprise for you — check your @blockfolio account for $25k of SOL.
Tonight is on crypto, thanks to you! pic.twitter.com/ci8yHp3e8W
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) April 30, 2021
The value of his deal has not been made public, but if Lawrence has been hodling his crypto earnings, there is a good chance he has enjoyed an appreciation in value, especially from the Solana (SOL) coins. The total crypto market cap has increased by about $500 billion since late April when the deal was announced.
Saquon Barkley
Saquon Barkley, the superstar running back from the New York Giants, revealed in July that he was converting all of his endorsement pay into BTC. As with most others on this list, Barkley is not being paid directly with crypto. Instead, he is swapping some of his cash earnings for crypto.
Barkley is using the Strike payment app to acquire his BTC. He is not the first NFL player to use Strike to buy BTC with his salary, however. Last year, former NFL offensive lineman Russel Okung became the first player to publicly share that he was using Strike to convert his NFL salary to BTC.
Barkley’s reasoning for trying to amass wealth with BTC revolved around the lack of longevity among NFL athletes. He told The Best Business Show host Anthony Pompliano on July 15:
“When you see the KD’s, the Lebrons and Bradys of the world and you want to create generational wealth, you can’t do that with the sport that I play and the position that I play and coming off of injuries. When you sit out of football for a whole year, you realize that this game could be taken away from you.”
Sean Culkin
Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Sean Culkin went public with his plans to convert his entire salary from the NFL into BTC. While others on this list committed to converting only a portion of their salary into Bitcoin or being paid for endorsements with cryptos, Culkin is swapping 100% of his salary.
I fully believe Bitcoin is the future of finance and I wanted to prove that I have real skin in the game — not just trying to make a quick buck. I will be converting my entire 2021 NFL salary to #Bitcoin.
— Sean Culkin (@culkin22) April 26, 2021
Like with Saquon Barkley, Culkin’s reasoning for turning to crypto has to do with the short half-life common among players in the league. The average time most athletes spend in the NFL is 3.3 years, according to Statista. Culkin said in a statement:
“Considering my career—particularly its physical demands, and brevity–it makes the most sense to be paid in sound money that I believe protects its purchasing power over time.”
Aaron Jones
Last but certainly not least on the list of NFL stars earning crypto is the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Jones. The running back signed a deal with FTX to become an ambassador for the exchange in September. Like with Tom Brady’s deal, Jones purchased an equity stake in the exchange.
Jones will also integrate the FTX Pay platform into his own charity’s website to enable it to accept crypto donations.
Got my first NFT Shout out to @MaisonDeGOAT thank you for welcoming me to the herd #GOATz
Excited to be apart of the community !!! pic.twitter.com/oLRquKjGRE
— Aaron Jones 3️⃣3️⃣ (@Showtyme_33) December 9, 2021
National Football League’s star Odell Beckham Jr has become the latest high-profile athlete to accept his remuneration in Bitcoin from his team Los Angeles Rams.
Beckham Jr’s new payment deal comes as part of an arrangement with Square Inc-backed mobile payments service Cash App.
“It’s the start of a new era I’m looking forward to the future,” he wrote in a video embedded tweet.
Reports suggest Beckham Jr’s total salary for the 2021 season would be worth roughly 75.66 BTC at an average price of $56,103. Beckham Jr also stated that he will be taking all of his $4.25 million NFL salary in Bitcoin.
Digital wallet Cash App allows users to send and receive money, invest in stocks and trade Bitcoin.
Beckham Jr also owns a CryptoPunk-style NFT image titled CryptoPunk 3365, which he set as his Twitter profile picture; the price of that NFT is unknown.
Enthusiasm for cryptocurrency among athletes was seen earlier this month when Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers announced a similar tie-up with Cash App, saying he would receive part of his salary in Bitcoin.
While on October 27, Blockchain.News reported that a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan has rewarded a Bitcoin from Tom Brady after the fan returned the ball following Brady’s 600th touchdown pass, which Mike Evans completed.
Aaron Rodgers, the American football quarterback of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), said on Twitter today that he is firmly optimistic about the future of bitcoin and will accept bitcoin as part of his salary.
On November 1, he posted a message saying that he would cooperate with Cash App to get part of his salary in Bitcoin (BTC).
At the same time, he also stated that to get closer to the fans and make them more intuitively understand cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, a total of 1 million U.S. dollars in bitcoin will be issued.
The National Football League, where Aaron Rodgers serve, reported that on July 29, from March 2021, Rogers will receive a roster bonus of $6.8 million, a signing bonus of $14,464,706, and a base salary of $1.1 million, totalling $22,364,706.
In 2022, he will receive a salary of $26,470,588 with an exercise bonus of $500,000. The total annual salary is up to $26,970,688.
According to Coinmarketcap, bitcoin has risen by 1.43% in the past 24 hours. At the time of writing, bitcoin was trading at $61,486.26. In accordance with the current bitcoin price, Rogers’s total salary in 2021 is about 363.73 BTC and about 438.64 BTC next year.
Aaron Rodgers is not the first sports star to start accepting cryptocurrency as a portion of their salary.
As early as mid-August this year, Argentinian football superstar Lionel Messi accepted cryptocurrency PSG tokens as part of the payment after signing a new contract with the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) team.
