Share this article
New York Giants Star Saquon Barkley Will Take All Future Endorsement Money in Bitcoin
The running back said he heeded some advice from Strike CEO Jack Mallers in making his decision.
By Nelson Wang
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 1:25 p.m. Published Jul 14, 2021, 7:26 p.m.
New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley said on Wednesday that he will be taking all of his future endorsement money in bitcoin.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Barkley made his announcement on an episode of Joe Pompliano’s new show on YouTube, "The Best Business Show."
Here is @saquon announcing that he will be taking 100% of his endorsement money in bitcoin moving forward.
— Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) July 14, 2021
FULL EPISODE: https://t.co/iZEy64vQvH pic.twitter.com/e1R0HggR5y
“You see how high [inflation] is and you learn you can’t save yourself through wealth,” Barkley said on the show. “That's why I am going to be taking my marketing money in bitcoin."
Barkley said he was influenced by conversations he had with Jack Mallers, the CEO of Strike who was also on the show, in making his decision. Strike uses the Lightning Network payments platform to convert direct deposits made into checking accounts into bitcoin. Mallers said the product Barkley will be using to be paid in bitcoin will be rolled out to all users in the U.S. in the next 30 to 60 days.
Pompliano put Barkley’s annual endorsement earnings in the “eight-plus figures.” Barkley has signed deals in the past with Nike, Pepsi, Visa and Dunkin’ Donuts, among others.
“I think it’s just a smart thing to do and the right thing to do to start taking my investment money in bitcoin and through Strike,” Barkley added.
Barkley, who was drafted by the Giants with the No. 2 pick in 2018, was the National Football League's offensive rookie of the year but was out almost all of last year with an injury. He has a four-year, $31.2 million contract with the Giants that included a $20.8 million signing bonus.
Several other high-profile NFL athletes have decided to invest all or part of their earnings in bitcoin, including Carolina Panthers tackle Russell Okung, who is splitting his $13 million yearly salary 50-50 between bitcoin and fiat, and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Sean Culkin, who elected to take his entire 2021 base salary of $920,000 in bitcoin. Culkin was cut by the Chiefs before he had a chance to execute his plans.
In addition, this year’s No. 1 draft pick, quarterback Trevor Lawrence, reportedly accepted his signing bonus from the Jacksonville Jaguars in April in a mix of bitcoin, ether and solana. Lawrence has an endorsement deal with cryptocurrency portfolio management app Blockfolio.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Bitcoin Stumbles Back Below $90K as Dollar Sinks to 7-Week Low After Fed Rate Cut
The dollar, along with precious metals and bond yields, is reacting as expected to easier financial conditions, but crypto remains in a bearish trend.
What to know:
- The U.S. dollar index (DXY) has fallen to a seven week low following the Fed's rate cut on Wednesday.
- Precious metals are soaring and bond yields are falling.
- Bitcoin remains stuck in a downtrend, falling back below $90,000 after the briefest of rallies.
Top Stories
