From 2010 to 2020, Russell Okung played for four different NFL franchises. He won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks and earned a pair of Pro Bowl nods in 2012 and 2017. He last played in the NFL in 2020 before officially retiring in 2023.
That final season in 2020 is what we’re most interested in here. The Los Angeles Chargers had traded Okung to the Carolina Panthers. Okung was set to earn $13 million in salary, and he announced he was converting half of his salary to Bitcoin.
At first, Okung said the Panthers were paying him in Bitcoin, though the NFL quickly corrected that. Even today, players can’t actually get Bitcoin as payment—they would have to receive U.S. dollars in direct deposit and then buy Bitcoin on the platform of their choice.
That’s what Okung did with $6.5 million, good enough for about 240 Bitcoins back in 2020. How did that decision turn out?
Grant Halverson/Getty Images
For a while, it looked bad. Okung’s money disappeared as Bitcoin experienced some painful drops in value. Yet that money was never truly gone as long as Okung held onto his investment.
Considering he just posted a video extolling the virtues of Bitcoin, it’s safe to say he’s held onto his investment.
As of this writing, the price of Bitcoin is at $90,164.40. That means Okung’s initial 240 Bitcoins are now worth $21,639,456.
That’s a return on investment of nearly 233% over four years. It’s quite likely Okung has continued investing since that season, even after retiring in 2023, so he’s likely profited even more as the price of Bitcoin continues to go up.
Odell Beckham Jr. is enjoying similar levels of success right now. He took his entire 2021 salary of $1.25 million in Bitcoin.
Of course, crypto is still a newer vehicle, and its value fluctuates much more wildly than, say, a traditional index fund in the stock market. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart.
Yet Okung fundamentally believes in the possibilities of Bitcoin, even beyond financial means. And when you support something to that level, you’re willing to ride with it wherever it takes you.
As Okung hints at in that video he shared on X/Twitter, he’s hoping it carries him to the moon.