The crypto athletic connection has grown far stronger since I’ve stopped watching sports. It has been over a year since I’ve watched any professional sporting event. If you’ve seen our Twitter timeline, it shouldn’t be hard to understand why.
There are so many better ways for men to spend their time than watching televised games. Reading, exercising, spending time with family, appreciating the outdoors, admiring yourself in the mirror, pretty much anything. All professional leagues, yes, NHL fans, all of them, are stocked with communists in decision making roles. Sports “journalism” ranks are teeming with feminists, leftists and those who make excuses for violence. Athletes use their social media soapboxes, particularly those who are indebted to foreign powers, to fabricate events and openly promote division. I’ve moved on from wasting my time on being entertained by those who hate me and I hope that many of my readers have as well.
With that being said, professional sports are still considered by millions to be one of the cultural pillars in our society. Many fans will take cues of trends from their favorite sports stars. So, while I am down on sports, the fact that the crypto athletic connection continues to deepen signifies that millions of new people will be onboarded into the cryptosphere thanks to being introduced to it through the sports world.
To that end, we’ve seen the crypto athletic connection garner more headlines lately than ever before and we’re likely to see the pace accelerate from this point on.
Some of the latest headlines include:
O’Dell Beckham Will Take His Full Salary in Bitcoin

Love him or hate him, the former Pro-Bowl wide receiver still garners a ton of attention. After his trade from Cleveland to the major media market of Los Angeles, his announcement to receive his entire salary in Bitcoin turned a few heads earlier this week.
National Football League (NFL) wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. will take his entire new salary in bitcoin through a partnership with Cash App, the athlete announced on Twitter. “It’s a NEW ERA & to kick that off I’m hyped to announce that I’m taking my new salary in bitcoin thanks to CashApp,” Beckham tweeted. He added that he is also giving away a total of $1 million in BTC to fans who post their Cash App usernames in the announcement’s comments section.

Beckham isn’t the only famous NFL player to ditch the downward-spiraling dollar.
All-World QB Aaron Rodgers Diverts Part of His Salary to Bitcoin
The Packers legend did not mention what percent of his salary would be diverted into Bitcoin.
In the video, Rodgers states that “Bitcoin is a new concept and can be intimidating,” and that, to make Bitcoin “more accessible” to his fans. Notice the language here, it’s not by accident. Cash App (through athletes like Rodgers and Beckham) is looking to onboard from a pool of millions of people who may not have become involved in the cryptosphere without an athlete introducing them to the concept. This is significant. Exposure to crypto from a source that others look up to is huge. We wrote about this a few weeks back when discussing Gene Simmons introducing KISS fans, many of whom are in their fifties or sixties, into the world of crypto through Cardano. Aaron Rodgers has done the same, opening the door for thousands of winter-hardened, dairy-guzzling, extremely friendly Wisconsinites to discover Bitcoin.
Did Rodgers actually give away BTC like he said he would in the tweet? Apparently so…
Adidas Teams Up With Coinbase In Metaverse Play
The crypto athletic connection between Coinbase and Adidas looks to capitalize on the possibilities in the metaverse. From Indian Express:
Sneaker giant Adidas is stepping into the world of cryptocurrencies. The German multinational shoe and sportswear company announced its partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.
This development comes two days after the Sandbox tweeted about the popular shoe company and shared a video clip of Adidas real estate in the Sandbox metaverse.
The Sandbox is a virtual metaverse where players can build, own, and monetize their gaming experiences on the Ethereum blockchain.
Adidas is betting that gamers in the metaverse will pay to wear their gear, virtually.
Interestingly, two days ago, Adidas bought a piece of virtual land called “adiVerse” in the blockchain-based world The Sandbox, hinting that the company will offer virtual reality products. “That’s something big because it is also a hint of what’s about to hit the fan in a couple of months in the NFT space: the Adidas sneakers and other branded virtual clothes, shoes and objects,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, as quoted by Reuters.
How did Adidas announce their partnership with Coinbase?
By blatantly ripping off the crypto master who coined the phrase “Probably nothing,” BowTied Bull, that’s how.
Adidas’ primary competitor Nike is gearing up to sell virtual versions of their clothing and sneakers in the metaverse as well. We are still waiting for confirmation that Nike will enslave Uyghurs virtually in the metaverse, just as they do in real life.
Crypto.com Takes over Staples Center
This crypto athletic partnership is far larger than any athlete. As we have already mentioned on this blog, Crypto.com recently took over the naming rights for the Staples Center in Los Angeles. We believe that this will one day be seen as a truly landmark moment in crypto history:
Crypto.com didn’t just secure any old stadium’s naming rights. They secured the rights to the Staples Center which is almost universally recognized by professional basketball fans.
The Staples Center name has become synonymous with sports in Los Angeles over the last twenty years. It also hosts a ton of concerts and live events, which means constant advertising. Plus, “Crypto.com Arena” can morph into a nickname like “The Crypt” pretty easily.
The constant exposure of the Crypto.com name alone establishes legitimacy, not only to the brand, but the overall crypto market and the very concept of cryptocurrencies as a store of wealth. As an added bonus, their corporate name is completely synonymous with, well, crypto! This isn’t going to be “CoinBase Park” or “KuCoin Stadium.” In other words, this won’t present a situation where people might not know what a KuCoin actually is, or one where they confuse CoinBase with the company that owns those machines that take your change at supermarkets. With a simple name like “Crypto.com,” there is near zero implied confusion!
Crypto.com came out swinging for the fences and their $700 million investment should pay enormous dividends for decades, not just for their brand, but for the entire cryptocurrency industry. This could very well be seen as the moment when crypto crossed the Rubicon.
Crypto Athletic Partnerships Continue to Expand
Some college players have gone so far as to start their own cryptocurrencies as Kayvon Thibodeaux and Jaylen Clark have. Stories about pro / collegiate athletics and crypto are becoming more commonplace. And no matter how you feel about professional sports, we can all agree that this is excellent for crypto adoption.
Did you enjoy this post? If so, please do us a solid and to share us on Twitter!
You can also subscribe to our weekly crypto news roundup. It’s free and you can opt-out at any time. When you do, you’ll receive a copy of our eBook 9 Unusual Ways You Can Make Money With Crypto (But Can’t With Cash)
You can also help support our page and keep this blog going (we have no ads at this time) when you click this link to receive a FREE $50 in BitCoin for signing up with OKCoin. When you do, you’ll get $50 and so will we.
And what’s better than free money? Free Bitcoin!
-The Crypto Trend Analyst Team
Further Reading:
Gene Simmons Cardano Investment “Unmasked”
What is Blockchain Technology (A Beginner’s Guide)
Coinbase and OKCoin, Who Ya Got?