Odell Beckham Jr. is going to get paid, whether you like it or not. It might not be by the Giants, but he will get paid nonetheless. There have been a long list of athletes in New York City that people always had a reaction to one way or the other, either positive or negative. It seems like everyone has an opinion of Odell Beckham Jr. one way or another. In this city, he draws a long list of athletes that includes Darryl Strawberry and Alex Rodriguez just to name a few.
With that being said, Beckham Jr. certainly knows how to play the attention game. Just like many millennials he knows how to play the social media game. He knows how to tweak, react and troll that always seems to keep his name in the headlines. He is a tremendous marketer of his brand. That is why Nike paid him roughly $5 million per season for the next 5 years in the largest endorsement deal that Nike has ever paid an NFL player. Why would that be the case? Because Beckham Jr. is different that many we have seen play the wide receiver position before.
He is a draw and is certainly an athlete that brings in new football fans and is able to sell merchandise that he is associated with. He is the most popular Giant even without the post-season success and the Super Bowl championships.
We have not even gotten to his game breaking talent, which is as easy to see as a beautiful Montauk sunrise.
That is why the latest video controversy involving Odell Beckham Jr. will not amount to all that much. As the Giants and the NFL admitted that they are aware of the video, they provided no further comments. The 7-second video shows Beckham Jr. in a bed with a woman, a pepperoni pizza, a credit card, white powdery substance and Beckham appears to be holding a brown cigarette. The video was first tweeted out by Fameolous and it certainly rocked twitter and social media on Friday night. It is not a good look and he has to be smarter than that, but I do not think it will change anything when it comes to the Giants and their commitment to Odell Beckham Jr. long term and it should not.
We will see what the fallout of this video is as time moves along, but as it stands right now, I don’t think it will affect the leverage of Beckham Jr. in any way shape or form. Does he need to grow up and mature a little bit, for sure. But his talent is unique and we do know that ‘stars’ are given a lot more leeway than others in the NFL because it is the difference makers that often determine if an organization has a successful season or not.
Plus, it should not bother Giants fans that Beckham Jr. wants to play zero snaps in the preseason this summer. After all, he did get injured against the Cleveland Browns in a meaningless preseason game last summer. If I asked you the question what is the most important thing about preseason football, I think most would say that you want to get out of it as healthy as possible with your star players healthy for the regular season. So, with that being an agreed upon opinion, why should it come a surprise that Beckham Jr. doesn’t want to play meaningless football. His logic is sound and justified.
As Mike Evan signed a 5-year contract with the Tampa Buccaneers that could be worth right around $96 million dollars, Odell Beckham Jr. had to be smiling. No, I don’t think he will be the highest paid player in the NFL, but he might get the biggest contract for any receiver in the history of the NFL because of how marketable he is off the field and his production on the field. Plus, you should not be angered by the fact that he wants to maximize his value and make the most money he can.
He reportedly is looking to make $20 million dollars per season in his next contract. He is due to make $8.5 million dollars in 2018 in the final year of his rookie contract. I will say this, if the Giants are unwilling to pay Beckham Jr. the money that he is looking for in his next deal, another team gladly will.
I don’t know if Beckham Jr. will hold out this summer to try and force the Giants hands. I do know this that if the Giants are looking to win in 2018 and get back to the post-season, they will need Beckham Jr. on the field and playing at his elite level. When healthy in his first three seasons, Beckham Jr. had at least 90 catches 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns. That is difficult production to replace and even more difficult is the attention he draws from opposing defenses as well.
I know some might not like to hear this, but the latest video should not change anything when it comes to the Giants thoughts on signing Odell Beckham Jr. to a long-term contract. They need to get the deal done because they need him and he knows it.
