KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If he makes the Kansas City Chiefs‘ roster to start this season, tight finish Sean Culkin would be the first NFL participant to transform all of his wage to Bitcoin.
Culkin, who’s vying to be a backup behind starter Travis Kelce, could be paid his $920,000 wage by the Chiefs in U.S. dollars however in flip will convert it to Bitcoin.
“I’ve at all times had a whole lot of curiosity in and a ardour for finance and economics from my days at Mizzou,” Culkin mentioned. “Even earlier than that, my dad was huge, actually bullish on gold. Early on, I used to be at all times uncovered to his philosophies on what made gold an intractable funding taking a look at it from a macro perspective. There’s a whole lot of overlap between gold and Bitcoin. I actually spent all of my time within the offseason the previous 12 months simply listening to about this rising house in crypto. It simply appeared prefer it was getting larger and greater.
“By schooling and studying and having a stage of conviction over the course of time, I simply felt like I wished to be compensated from my providers in soccer in Bitcoin.”
Culkin, 27, joined the Chiefs this previous February on a reserve/future contract. He tweeted about his determination earlier Monday, saying Bitcoin is “the way forward for finance.”
I totally imagine Bitcoin is the way forward for finance and I wished to show that I’ve actual pores and skin within the recreation – not simply attempting to make a fast buck. I will likely be changing my whole 2021 NFL wage to #Bitcoin.
— Sean Culkin (@culkin22) April 26, 2021
Culkin has performed 19 profession NFL video games and caught two passes for the Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens. However he mentioned the upcoming season could be his first for changing his paycheck to Bitcoin.
“I need to do that with the thought it will proceed to rise over the long run,” he mentioned. “This for me is a long-term play, a generational play. The extra analysis I did and the extra I zoomed out, I did not essentially hyperlink volatility to threat. I noticed Bitcoin was rising at such an exponential price.
“It will have some giant pullbacks and dips and persons are in all probability going to say I am loopy, however I am specializing in the long run. Long run, it is a saved worth. What makes Bitcoin so intractable is its shortage. Over time, it is deflationary by nature. In case you have a look at historical past, it appreciates over time.”
Veteran offensive lineman Russell Okung introduced this previous December that roughly half of his 2020 wage from the Carolina Panthers could be transformed to Bitcoin. And quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the doubtless No. 1 total draft decide, signed an endorsement cope with cryptocurrency funding app Blockfolio on Monday. The corporate mentioned his signing bonus will are available in cryptocurrency.
The Related Press contributed to this report.