Saquon Barkley is going all in on bitcoin BTCUSD, -1.96%.
The star New York Giants running back claimed on “The Best Business Show” that he is accepting all future marketing and endorsement deals he signs in bitcoin.
“You see inflation and you see how high it is right now, and you learn that you can’t save your wealth,” Barkley said. “So that’s why I’ll be taking my marketing money in bitcoin.”
Barkley, 24, says he will use crypto app Strike for future bitcoin payments and added that he wants to build “generational wealth” off the field like famously savvy athlete investors Kevin Durant and Tom Brady.
Barkley has amassed an impressive endorsement portfolio with companies such as Dunkin’ Donuts , Nike NKE, -1.14%, Pepsi PEP, +0.37%, Toyota TM, -0.45%, Visa V, -0.17% and Hulu — and he acknowledged during his interview that his annual endorsement income is over $10 million.
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Barkley currently has a 4-year, $31.2 million contract with the Giants that ends after the 2022 season.
And the running back is not the only athlete interested in bitcoin and other cryptocurrency. In 2020, Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Russell Okung announced he will convert half of his $13 million salary into bitcoin, and top NFL draft pick Trevor Lawrence signed a deal with crypto portfolio app Blockfolio and was paid in a mix of bitcoin, ethereum ETHUSD, -1.89%, and Solana. Even Super Bowl champion and MVP Patrick Mahomes appears to be interested in cryptocurrency.
Free agent NFL tight end Sean Culkin earlier this year told MarketWatch that he will convert his entire 2021 NFL salary into bitcoin because he was worried about falling ending up broke, like some other professional athletes.
“Not too long ago everyone was just going broke,” Culkin told MarketWatch on his way home from offseason workouts. “I see this new world with crypto beginning to grow. I view it as gold GC00, -0.90%, digital gold, but better.”
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