Odell Beckham Jr. puts more emphasis on his play than on megabucks
Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. speaks to the media in East Rutherford, N.J., on Tuesday. Credit: AP/Tom Canavan
Odell Beckham Jr. scoffs at the idea that he is set for life.
Yes, his new five-year extension can pay him $95 million, and coupling that with what he’s already earned playing in the NFL and through endorsements, neither he nor anyone within several generations of him on either side will ever have financial concerns. But that’s not what he considers being set. That’s not what he wants. And it’s why he called the contract that had been a storyline for almost a full year a “little thing” and “something that you get out of the way.”
Instead, Beckham insists that he wants more. Not more money. Just … more.
“Honestly, it sounds crazy enough, but I don’t think I’ve done anything really since I’ve been here,” the wide receiver said Tuesday in his first public comments since signing the deal that will keep him under contract with the Giants through the 2023 season. “I have goals for myself. I don’t think I’ve truly been able to achieve them even with the success that I’ve had. It’s not really where I want to be. Like I said, before I was even in the NFL, I wanted to be legendary … My goal was always to be in the Hall of Fame, to win trophies, to be able to leave a legacy that will be remembered way past any money that you make.”
Those negotiations are ongoing. They’ll resume Sept. 9 against the Jaguars. It will be Beckham’s first opportunity to play since he fractured his ankle last October, and his first chance to live up to the title as highest-paid receiver in football.
“You always have steps,” he said. “For example, any time you have adversity in life and you have those moments, you’re like, 'I don’t know how I’m ever going to overcome this, how am I ever going to get past this?' And then you move on and you do get past it. This is kind of the same. There’s always little steps and chapters, whether it’s a Super Bowl, whether it’s the contract, but these moments come, they happen, and then hopefully, win a couple Super Bowls and it’s not the contract that was the big thing. It’s just little things that happen in life that are steps for where you’re going.”
The contract may not change Beckham’s expectations, but it will change how he is perceived by others. It will put a bigger target on him than he’s ever worn, and for most of his career there has been a rather large bull’s-eye between the 1 and the 3 on his jersey. Just after he signed on Monday, Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who will cover Beckham in the opener, took note of it on social media. “It’s going to be a very good show soon,” he wrote.
It’ll be up to Beckham to respond, and do so in a manner befitting his new status with the organization.
“We all need to control our bodies and our minds,” Pat Shurmur said. “We talk about that with the players constantly, making sure they keep their composure. There’s a real fine line from being competitive and then crossing that line. He’s no different than any other player and we all wrestle with it as competitors. When I was a player, I was involved in a fight or two myself, so I understand mentally how that plays out.”
Shurmur’s scuffles at Michigan State never drew the kind of attention that Beckham’s antics have in the past and undoubtedly will should they occur in the future. Now, every time the wide receiver is involved in an incident, he'll be the $95-million guy and not Beckham.
“He’s always going to be a high-energy guy,” Giants co-owner John Mara said. “He’s always going to be an emotional guy. It's just that I hope he keeps those emotions in check. I’m sure there are going to be some incidents where he gets excited. Hopefully, he keeps it within the grounds of not incurring a penalty or doing anything else that is going to embarrass him or us.”
Beckham understands that. He even pointed out that he wore a snazzy Giants golf shirt to his news conference on Tuesday. “I’m growing up,” he said, tugging at his polo. Of course, before he’d crossed the parking lot from the media podium to the locker room, he’d pulled that shirt over his head and thrown on a colorful, graphic T-shirt.
That, too, is part of Beckham’s legacy. The Giants, despite being wary of Beckham’s behavior, probably didn’t mind the quick wardrobe change too much. A completely buttoned-up Beckham does nobody any good.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
