The New York Giants and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. have reached an agreement on a five-year, $95 million extension that will make him the NFL’s highest-paid wideout.
ESPN’s Josina Anderson reports the deal includes $65 million in guaranteed money. Beckham will make $20 million a year for the first three years of the deal, surpassing the $17 million per year of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Antonio Brown. The amount of total guaranteed money is higher than that of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Mike Evans ($55 million).
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Beckham will play 2018 under the fifth-year option of his rookie deal, making $8.5 million. He is now under contract through the 2023 season.
He has sought a long-term extension for the better part of the last two seasons. In that time span, 12 of the 14 wide receivers taken in the first two rounds of the 2014 NFL Draft signed lucrative deals. The Giants have long said they wanted Beckham to spend his entire career at the Meadowlands.
Beckham’s talent was never in doubt. He has 313 receptions for 4,424 yards and 38 touchdowns. He is ranked 10th in franchise history in receptions, 11th all-time in receiving yards, and fifth all-time in receiving touchdowns. Beckham’s stats are more impressive considering he has accomplished this in just 47 career NFL games.
Despite his prodigious talent, Beckham sometimes made headlines for all the wrong reasons. The Giants were reportedly looking to trade him before April’s NFL Draft. In the end, though, it was a deal that both sides needed to make happen.
For the Giants, it would be nearly impossible to replace Beckham as a transcendent talent with both box office draw and playmaking ability. At the same time, Beckham is returning from a broken ankle that limited him to four games last season. There were also questions about his dedication.
Beckham answered those questions by being a constant presence at the Giants’ training facility throughout the spring. He also developed a relationship with head coach Pat Shurmur, who was said to have helped get the deal done behind the scenes.
Beckham promised his contract situation wouldn’t become a distraction and kept his word. He quietly reported to training camp, putting any notions of a holdout to rest. He has made no secret of his desire to get an extension, but ultimately left the negotiations to agent Zeke Sandhu.
– Curtis Rawls is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage and covers the NFL, the New York Giants, and the NBA. Please like and follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Twitter. Curtis can be followed on Twitter @CuRawls203.
