NBA #1 pick Cade Cunningham's to be paid in bitcoin for BlockFi sponsor deal

The 1st overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons' Cade Cunningham has signed an exclusive multi-year partnership with cryptocurrency financial services firm BlockFi. As per the agreement, Cunningham is being paid 100% of his signing bonus in Bitcoin (BTC-USD). Coindesk reminds that this is a part of a trend, noting #1 NFL pick Trevor Lawrence earlier this year inked a deal with FTX, with part of his payment coming in a mix of cryptocurrencies. BlockFi will collaborate with Cunningham on educational and promotional videos through the duration of the deal. In the crypto world, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is down 0.2% in the past 24 hours, while Ether (ETH-USD) slides 1.9%. In June, NASCAR driver Landon Cassill said he will receive pay from a sponsor in crypto because that's "where the market is headed."