Odell Beckham Jr.’s $95M, Five-Year Extension With Giants Hints WR Is Poised To Become The Best In NFL

Odell Beckham Jr. on Monday signed a five-year, $95 million maximum extension with the New York Giants to become the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL.

Giants Sign Odell Beckham To Maximum $95M Extension

The 25-year-old receiver’s deal reportedly includes $65 million guaranteed. Beckham, a three-time Pro Bowler, had been desperately seeking an extension with the Giants since the offseason started. The wideout — who joined the NFL in 2014 — injured his ankle in October 2017 and sat out the rest of last season. He has not yet played this preseason.

Beckham’s new deal strongly suggests he could eventually become the league’s top receiver. The former LSU star made several jaw-dropping one-handed catches in his first two seasons. According to ESPN, he logged at least 90 receptions, 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns in each of his first three NFL campaigns. Beckham was also the fastest wideout in league history to hit 3,000 receiving yards: it took him only 30 contests to achieve this. Beckham has one year remaining (a fifth-year option) on his rookie deal, and is reportedly set to earn $8.4 million this coming year.

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Of course, Beckham has also gained notoriety for his hot temper, which has led him to get into several heated arguments with opponents and game officials. However, some NFL pundits believe the young receiver has made a commitment to avoid this type of behavior in the future and could eventually become one of the league’s top wideouts. One such person is newly minted ESPN analyst Victor Cruz, who played for the Giants alongside Beckham in 2014 and 2016.

“If you look at his production on the field, he’s earned the right to become one of the highest-paid receivers — if not the highest-paid receiver — in the league,” Cruz said of Beckham last week.

Of course, Cruz may simply be biased toward his former teammate, but ESPN’s Max Kellerman agreed with the assessment that Beckham has a chance at becoming one of the best receivers in the league should he avoid any sort of temper problems or off-the-field issues. However, Kellerman disagreed with Cruz with regards to Beckham’s contract options.

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“It doesn’t matter if a guy earns [his contract], it it’s not in the team’s best interest to give him the money, they’re not going to give him the money,” said Kellerman. “Plus as a fan of the team, you don’t want them to give him the money because you think you could spend it better elsewhere.”

Kellerman then compared Beckham to other “premium” NFL wide receivers and said: “He can do things on a football field that [Pittsburgh’s] Antonio Brown and [Atlanta’s] Julio Jones can’t.”

Stephen A. Smith, however, asserted that he did not believe Beckham should be paid more than Brown, who has been one of the Steelers’s standout players in recent years. (Beckham’s new deal averages $19 million per year, which is now higher than Brown’s average annual salary of $17 million)

The Giants will face the Jacksonville Jaguars in their regulars season opener on Sept. 9. Before that, they will play the New England Patriots on Thursday for their final preseason game. The Giants (2-1) beat the Jets 22-16 on Friday.

Although Beckham was named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2014, he still lacks some of the other accomplishments receivers like Jones and Brown have reached, like leading the NFL in receiving yards and/or receptions in a given season. However, Beckham could one day get there thanks to solid practice and if he is paired with a strong quarterback with whom he can share productive chemistry on the field.