The Odell Beckham Jr. saga is nearing an end.
The Giants and their superstar wide receiver have agreed on a mega-deal, according to a club source. The five-year extension will be for $95 million, with $65 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network, which would make him the highest-paid wideout in the league. The deal for the 25-year-old comes in with an annual price tag of $19 million, topping the Steelers’ four-year deal with Antonio Brown ($17 million per). It also would surpass the $55 million guaranteed that was given to the Buccaneers’ Mike Evans.
It apparently ignited a party inside the Giants’ locker room after a long training camp practice in the heat on Monday, with fellow receiver Sterling Shepard posting a video on Instagram with The O’Jays’ “For the Love of Money” playing and Beckham dancing in the background.
There had been a chance that Beckham was going to hold out until he had a deal done, not willing to go into the final year of his current deal without an extension in place. During an offseason interview with “Uninterrupted,” he made it clear he thought he deserved to be the highest-paid receiver in the league. Beckham also has had his fair share of hot-headed moments on the field and some boneheaded moments off it.
It all created some tension around the Giants this offseason, but that was quelled a bit when Beckham showed up for training camp and started working under new Giants coach Pat Shurmur. Beckham did not play in any of the first three preseason games, and he admitted that just practicing was a “calculated risk.”
That was especially true because Beckham played in just four games last season and needed season-ending surgery on his fractured left ankle. In his four years in the league, he has 313 catches for 4,424 yards and 38 touchdowns. According to ESPN, his career 94.1 receiving yards per game is the second most in NFL history among players with at least 40 games played, behind only Julio Jones’ 95.3.
But Beckham has looked pretty good on the practice field. He beat top cornerback Janoris Jenkins for a touchdown in the corner of the end zone Monday, and Jenkins was rather impressed with the way Beckham has practiced.
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“Oh yeah, he ready,” Jenkins said. “All I know is that once Odell hits the field, he’s going to be Odell Beckham Jr. As far as him being ready, that’s on him. I’m just here to support him and hopefully he’ll get back out there with us.”
Asked how he knows when a player is ready, Jenkins made it seem rather simple.
“For one, he’s back on the field, that’s a heads-up,” Jenkins said. “He’s running his routes. He’s doing all the drills, he’s doing everything.
“Don’t look no different to me.”
But soon enough, Beckham’s bank account is going to look quite different. And soon enough, this whole drama will be behind the Giants, and they can again start focusing as a whole on the regular-season opener, Sept. 9 against the Jaguars.
–With Steve Serby
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