NEW YORK — Pay Saquon Barkley in Bitcoin.
Effective immediately, the Giants star running back and 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year will be accepting all his marketing and endorsement payments in Bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency priced over $30,000 a coin as of July 15.
The announcement comes just over two-and-a-half months after the Giants announced a partnership with cryptocurrency firm Grayscale Investments.
Barkley appeared on “The Best Business Show,” run by Bitcoin shill and cryptocurrency expert Anthony Pompliano, on Wednesday to explain the thought process behind his decision.
“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.
“That was my mind, that was my motto before coming into this league. Just live off my marketing money, and now that I see about inflation and learning so much about Bitcoin. … I think it’s just a smart thing to do and the right thing to do to start taking my investment money through Bitcoin and through Strike.”
The Strike app allows users to send and receive Bitcoin and is available in all states except New York and Hawaii.
Barkley has earned $4.5 million in endorsements to date versus $21.3 million of career earnings playing for the Giants, according to Forbes. He has inked sponsorships with Bose, Dunkin Donuts, Nike, Pepsi, Toyota, Visa and Hulu.
Barkley says his goal is to reach the level of wealth that other superstar athletes have reached during their playing careers, and he understands he has to do it off the field due to the nature of his position.
“You know you see the (Kevin Durants), (LeBron Jameses), the (Tom Bradys) of the world, and you want to create generational wealth, and you can’t do that especially in the sport that I play and the position I play and coming off an injury,” Barkley said. “That’s kind of the stuff that kind of makes more sense when you sit out of football for a whole year, you kind of realize that this game can be taken away from you and makes you sit back and think, ‘Damn if i never play a down of football, this is how much I have.’ That’s not enough for generational wealth.”
It’s unclear whether other players will follow in Barkley’s footsteps and take their endorsement money in Bitcoin, too.
“I don’t think I know it’s a conversation that’s being had in locker rooms,” he said, “but I think it’s a conversation that starts with learning, and I’m still learning.”