SharpLink has spent approximately $12.5 million to hire former BlackRock executive Joseph Chalom as the company's Co-CEO.

BlockBeats News, July 26th, according to SharpLink Gaming, Inc., in an 8-K filing dated July 2025, former BlackRock executive Joseph Chalom has been appointed as the company's Co-CEO, effective as of July 24, 2025. Joseph Chalom has previously helped launch BlackRock's Bitcoin Spot ETF IBIT, BlackRock's Ethereum Spot ETF ETHA, and BUIDL (the first tokenized sovereign debt fund on Ethereum). Current CEO Rob Phythian will share the position with Chalom, and Chalom's new employment agreement is as follows:

An annual salary of $750,000, target bonus of 100% of base salary, 7 million restricted stock units (RSUs) with a 2/3 time-based vesting and 1/3 performance-based vesting, a 2026 Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) of no less than $4 million, immediate vesting with a "double trigger" in the event of a Change in Control (CIC), and a severance package of two times the sum of annual salary and bonus.

From SharpLink's perspective, the expected total cost of hiring Joseph Chalom is at least approximately $12.5 million.