NBA star Thompson missed out on $31.75 billion in potential gains from 2015 $82 million contract

NBA Cleveland Cavaliers player Tristan Thompson recently revealed that his $82 million contract signed in 2015 would be worth $31.75 billion at current prices if paid in bitcoin. The price of bitcoin on the day of signing in October 2015 was $270. Thompson admitted that although a friend suggested buying bitcoin at the time, he did not take action due to concerns about volatility.
Thompson is currently deeply involved in the crypto space, serving as a brand ambassador for the Sportsbet.io crypto betting platform and leading the basketball data analytics project TraceyAI. He revealed that he is actively promoting bitcoin to NBA players, but explicitly opposes the issuance of celebrity meme coins: "Quick profit tokens are like dark clouds, athletes should help the ecology rather than harvest".
According to industry data, if Thompson sold bitcoin nine months after signing, its value has doubled to $175 million. Despite the missed opportunity, Thompson said that the existing basketball career and crypto field income are enough, and the current focus is more on the long-term value of blockchain technology. According to chain records, among American athletes, Odell Beckham Jr, Klay Thompson and others have chosen bitcoin to pay part of their salary.