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Southampton Players To Receive 'Bitcoin Bonuses' After 'Biggest Sponsorship Agreement' In Club's History

Southampton Players To Receive 'Bitcoin Bonuses' After 'Biggest Sponsorship Agreement' In Club's History

Southampton have signed a new sponsorship deal with Coingaming Group.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Southampton players will reportedly have the option to be paid bonuses in Bitcoin as part of a new sponsorship agreement.

The Saints have struck a a three-year deal with Coingaming Group, following on from a one-year term with the company to have Sportsbet.io, one of their brands, on the front of their shirts in 2020/21.

The deal with is said be worth £7.5 million a year, making it the most lucrative sponsorship contract in the club's history.

And as per The Athletic, another key feature of the arrangement means Saints players will be able to be paid performance-related bonuses in Bitcoin.

Image: PA
Image: PA

Achievements such as qualifying for Champions League or winning a domestic trophy could see members of Ralph Hussenhuttl's squad take home a healthy bonus that is paid entirely in the cryptocurrency, which launched in 2019

David Thomas, Southampton's chief commercial officer, said: "The team at Sportsbet.io have built a successful business by challenging convention and disrupting the market, but in a responsible way, and their approach to our partnership with them has been no different.

"In a short timeframe they've proven to be innovative, forward-thinking and extremely supportive of the club, our fans and the wider community, and we've welcomed the opportunity to develop and promote safe gambling messages together."

It could be a huge peek into the future. The price of Bitcoin reached a record of $62,575 (£45,511) on Tuesday morning as the the computer code currency continues to grow.

In January of this year, David Barral, former Real Madrid B and Levante striker, became the first-ever player to be purchased using Bitcoin.

He signed for Segunda B side DUX Internacional de Madrid in the history-making deal.

Cryptocurrency is currently making strides in football and 24 elite teams have started to use crypto tokens.

Manchester City joined Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in adopting the virtual payment method, while Cristiano Ronaldo was recently given 770 Fan Tokens to mark his career goals tally.

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Topics: Football, Southampton