A number of sporting stars have been caught up in the recent cryptocurrency crash, with star quarterback Trevor Lawrence reportedly losing $AUD22 million.
A graphic based on figures provided by CoinJournal surfaced on social media and displays a list of athletes who had suffered major losses by accepting part or all of their salary in the form of a virtual currency.
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Fellow NFL stars Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham Jr were named alongside Lawrence as was four-time NBA champion Andre Iguodala.
However, there is some conjecture as to whether Lawrence actually lost that exact amount of money.
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In April last year, Lawrence partnered with Blockfolio, a crypto tracking app.
The deal would see the Jacksonville Jaguars star have his entire $34 million rookie signing bonus paid in crypto.
But with the value nosediving in recent times, that $34 million is now worth $12m.
Yet it doesn’t quite mean Lawrence sat and watched his bonus dwindle rapidly.
When the 22-year-old signed his sponsorship deal with Blockfolio in April last year, Bitcoin was valued at 77k.
He could have pulled his money out when Bitcoin was at its peak in October when it was valued at $94,000 and made a significant profit.
But if he has held on to it, then he’s certainly suffered a big loss.
From the group of players listed by CoinJournal, there was only one player who put their full salary into cryptocurrency: Beckham Jr.
When he signed with the Los Angeles Rams in November last year, Beckham Jr was handed a base salary of $1 million and subsequently announced he would receive the pay packet in the form of Bitcoin.
