NFL Star Loses 61% of $750,000 BTC Salary After Market Crash

NFL Star Odell Beckham Jr (OBJ) is estimated to have lost 61% of his $750,000 salary that he took in Bitcoin. This follows the recent market crash that occurred after he signed the deal.

On November 12, 2021, OBJ signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams worth $750,000. Afterward, OBJ announced that he would be receiving 100% of the $750,000 yearly salary in Bitcoin in a promotional Twitter post partnered with CashApp.

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 pic.twitter.com/ds1IgZ1zup

— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) November 22, 2021

At the time of the deal, Bitcoin had reached record-breaking heights. Similarly, two days before OBJ signed, Bitcoin reached its highest price so far of $69,044.

Unfortunately, Bitcoin is currently down by 46% from that time and is currently worth $36,972.

Sports Business Analyst and Senior Executive Producer for The Action Network Darren Rovell chimed in on the news. He stated that OBJ’s choice to cash in his salary in Bitcoin is a cautionary tale.

Rovell proceeded to calculate OBJ’s actual earnings in the context of the market crash. He calculated that OBJ’s entire $750,000 salary has now been reduced to $413,000.

Additionally, OBJ would be taxed the original amount ($750,000) regardless of its current value. This means that Federal and State taxes are accounted for, at a cumulative rate of 50.3%. OBJ would have earned $35,000 over the past two and a half months– equal to a single bitcoin. This is less than half of the $90,000 he would have received if he cashed his salary in fiat.

In response to Rovell’s claims, Joe Pompilano retorted with a few corrections and stated that OBJ was paid weekly rather than annually. Additionally, OBJ earned plenty from the CashApp partnership– worth more than his entire NFL signing contract.

I know this fits your narrative, but it’s simply not true.

1. The deal was announced on Nov 22nd, not Nov 12th.

2. NFL players get paid weekly, not 100% upfront.

3. Cash App paid him 7-figures in marketing money — that’s more than his entire contract with the Rams.

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) January 23, 2022

Nevertheless, the loss has highlighted the complications of receiving salaries in cryptocurrency. The takeaway that plenty of crypto investors are unaware of is that taxes are applied on the amount worth when received, rather than when they lodge tax returns. 

This means that investors can be left with a huge tax bill if the value of their crypto assets drops between the time of purchase and the lodging of their tax returns.