April 2020 - Carolina Panthers Wiretap
Russell Okung will receive approximately half his 2020 salary in Bitcoin, becoming the first professional player to be paid by his team in this form of currency.
Okung was due $13 million in salary for the season and $6.5 million will be paid via Bitcoin.
The Panthers partnered with the Bitcoin platform Zap in order to split Okung's 2020 salary, per CoinDesk's William Foxley.
The Carolina Panthers have announced that they've parted ways with general manager Marty Hurney.
Hurney was under contract through 2021.
"I think sometimes you just need a restart, a refresh," owner David Tepper said. "We did it last year on the coaching side. Maybe you could say it should have been done before on the GM side. Maybe it should have been. I'm sure people may say that, or otherwise, on both sides.
"I think it's just time, on both sides, to do that. It just seems like the right time to move forward."
The Carolina Panthers do not expect Christian McCaffrey to play in Saturday's game against the Green Bay Packers because of a thigh injury.
Matt Rhule said unless McCaffrey shows up Wednesday and proves he can run and block, the running back will miss his fifth straight game and 11th in the past 12.
McCaffrey missed six games with a high ankle sprain suffered in Week 2, three with a shoulder injury suffered in his return and missed Sunday's 32-27 loss to the Denver Broncos with a thigh injury.
Christian McCaffrey is unlikely to return to the field for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
McCaffrey missed practice on Thursday after getting in a limited session on Wednesday. Matt Rhule said he does not expect McCaffrey to play against the Denver Broncos in Week 14.
The running back has missed the last three games with a shoulder injury after missing six contests with with an ankle injury he suffered in Week 2.
Christian McCaffrey is set to return for the Carolina Panthers after missing three games with a shoulder injury.
The Panthers could be without two of their top three receivers due to COVID-19 protocols on Sunday, which makes McCaffrey's return even more important.
McCaffrey has played in just three games this season due to ankle and shoulder injuries.
"I hope it's par for the course just for 2020,'' McCaffrey said. "It would be amazing if on January 1st it all went away. That's really what we've all learned in this whole year and the reason that we're doing this over the phone.
"You've got to be able to adapt, and you can't make excuses. You've got to move on and do the best you can with what you have. That's football with injuries that come along. And then you have COVID.''
