NFL Team Tennessee Titans Announce Plans to Accept Bitcoin (BTC)

Key Insights:

• The NFL’s Tennessee Titans have become the first NFL team to accept Bitcoin (BTC) payments.
• U.S sports and Bitcoin have enjoyed a growing relationship, with leading players also accepting payment in Bitcoin.
• The NBA’s Sacramento Kings were the first to take payment in Bitcoin back in 2014.

The National Football League (NFL) and digital assets have had a growing relationship, with leading figures in the sport of American football having ties with digital assets.

As Bitcoin (BTC) adoption continues, more organizations are exploring the use of crypto, with U.S sports proving to be a strong advocate of digital assets.

It was only a matter of time before NFL teams started accepting crypto payments, forging stronger ties with the digital asset space.

Tennessee Titans Become First NFL Team to Accept Bitcoin (BTC)

Overnight, news hit the wires of the Tennessee Titans becoming the first NFL team to accept Bitcoin for payments.

The team will reportedly accept Bitcoin payments for large and recurring transactions. These would include Bitcoin payment for season tickets and boxes. In the future, the team aims to accept Bitcoin payments for merchandise, single tickets, and in-stadium F&B sales.

Gil Beverley, Senior Vice President/Chief Marketing and Revenue Office reportedly said,

“At the Tennessee Titans, we’re always striving to be a tech-forward, innovation-first, and data-driven business. Accepting Bitcoin is part of an overarching goal to make our fans a top priority and remain on the cutting edge of their needs and what the market demands.”

According to the media, the team consulted with Bitcoin Magazine and UTXO Management to make it a reality.

The Tennessee Titans are an American football team based in Nashville Tennessee. Previously called the Houston Oilers, the team joined the NFL in 1970 and made it to Super Bowl XXXIV only to lose to the St Louis Rams.

U.S Sports and Digital Assets See a Blossoming Relationship

The Tennessee Titans are not the first U.S sports team to have links to Bitcoin. Since 2014, the NBA’s Sacramento Kings have accepted Bitcoin for tickets and merchandise. The team went even further in 2021 by announcing that team staff and players can opt for partial or full Bitcoin salaries.

In March 2021, Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Oakland Athletics became the second major U.S sports team to accept Bitcoin payments. The Oakland Athletics made it to the big screen in 2011 in the film Moneyball which depicted their 2002 season with general manager Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt.

At the player level, leading U.S sports players have also accepted Bitcoin payments for salaries or endorsements.

Late last year, we reported on leading NFL players accepting crypto salaries. Players included Aaron Jones, Aaron Rodgers, Odell Beckham Jr, Saquon Barkley, Sean Culkin, Tom Brady, and Trevor Lawrence. Sean Culkin stands out from the list by being the only player to take his entire salary in BTC. Others are swapping a portion of their salary or will be receiving endorsements in crypto.

Russell Okung is believed to be the first NFL player to take a crypto salary. In 2020, he reportedly received 50% of his salary in Bitcoin (BTC).

More teams and players will likely take Bitcoin payments and salaries as the digital asset space and U.S sports form closer ties. Major crypto exchanges are entrenching in U.S sports, with platforms including Crypto.com becoming main sponsors.

Last November, Crypto.com paid over $700m for the naming rights to the home of the NBA’s LA Lakers and Clippers and the NHL’s Kings, and the WNBA’s Sparks. Previously called Staples Center, the stadium is now known as Crypto.com Arena.