Giants finally pay Odell Beckham what he’s worth with new contract
Reports say the New York Giants have agreed to a new contract with wide receiver Odell Beckham that will make him the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL.
The drama over whether and when New York would ink Beckham to a new deal has been lingering since June (if not since 2017), when murmurs about a potential holdout got louder. They were quieted Monday, as NFL.com’s Ian Rapaport reported the Giants and Beckham had agreed to a five-year, $95 million deal ($65 million guaranteed) to make Beckham a very rich man.
Despite his desire to get a raise on his $8.45 million deal, Beckham has been present at team events throughout the offseason, including OTAs and now into training camp and preseason games. Beckham ultimately did squelch the possibility of a holdout in June when he said he would be at training camp, but considering how these situations tend to materialize quickly, it could never be counted out that Beckham may have become disgruntled.
The Giants had to pay him, and now they have.
Even coming off a season almost entirely lost to injury, Beckham represents one of the top talents in the NFL. The changes overtaking New York this summer, including new head coach Pat Shurmur and an offense expected to be revamped around No. 2 pick Saquon Barkley, meant this would be an important season for the Giants.
They couldn’t afford to let Beckham go.
Depending on how the contract is structured, Beckham’s deal will put his cap hit near the very top of the league at his position for the 2018 season. Currently, Mike Evans’ $18.3 million hit is top in the NFL.
With two weeks to go until the start of the regular season, both the Giants and Beckham will be happy to undertake the new contract.