With Bitcoin Hitting An All-Time High of $120K, Odell Beckham Jr. Reveals He Still Hasn't Sold His Once-Mocked Salary Conversion

In November 2021, Odell Beckham Jr. signed a modest one-year, $750,000 contract with the Los Angeles Rams. Shortly after inking the deal, he announced that he was "taking his salary in Bitcoin." That wasn't technically true. NFL players are paid in U.S. dollars via direct deposit or check—always have been.

In Beckham's case, he was paid in USD and then used a third-party app to convert the money into Bitcoin. At the time of his conversion, Bitcoin was trading at $64,293. That means $750,000 would have bought him roughly 11.66 Bitcoin.

The move was widely mocked. To many, Bitcoin seemed like a passing fad—an obviously overinflated bubble built on nothing but hype and cult-like optimism. Within a year, those critics looked justified. Bitcoin collapsed by 75%, dropping to just $17,000, reducing his $750,000 investment down to $198,000.

Making matters worse, you don't get to avoid paying income taxes because you've bought Bitcoin. In other words, when Odell received $750,000 from the Rams, he would have paid around $377,000 in state and federal taxes. So, in essence, instead of netting $377,000, Odell LOST $180,000 that year playing in the NFL that year.

But as we've seen time and again, in the world of crypto, the timeline of crypto investing is long. As long as you don't sell. And Odell, never sold…

(Photo by Gary Miller/Getty Images)

Bitcoin Hits An All-Time High

As I type this article – Monday morning, July 14, 2025, at 10:40 am PST – Bitcoin is trading at an all-time high of $120,214. And according to a Twitter post from Odell, a few hours ago, he still has not sold:

Sooooo bitcoin is at an ALL TIME high today…safe to say we still happy with our decision 😏✌️✌️🚀

Lets see what crypto week talkin about 👀 pic.twitter.com/5I0uNV5zao

— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) July 14, 2025

The Current Math

Here's the updated math: at today's all-time high of $120,214, Odell's 11.66 Bitcoins are now worth $1,402,337.

Even after subtracting the $377,000 in state and federal taxes he paid on the original $750,000 salary, Odell is up more than $1 million—specifically, $1,025,337 in post-tax gains.

Not bad for a move that was once widely considered one of the worst financial decisions an NFL player had ever made.

What's Next?

As for Odell's broader career, the 3-time Pro Bowler has earned over $100 million in NFL salary since entering the league in 2014. He helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI during the 2021 season and most recently played for the Miami Dolphins in 2024, appearing in nine games before parting ways with the team in December. Now a free agent at 32 years old, Beckham hasn't announced his next move on the field. With his investment nerves of steel, maybe he'll retire and launche a crypto hedge fund 🙂