‘GETT’ GOING & RE-SIGN ODELL

Right time for pact with Shurmur, OBJ on same page

Dave Gettleman needs to capitalize on the good will the Giants, Pat Shurmur and Odell Beckham Jr. have rebuilt in the last few weeks. If this GM wants to consider this offseason complete and successful, he needs to re-sign Beckham to a lucrative, long-term contract extension and he needs to do it now.

Something critically important happened in April, in between Gettleman having serious conversations about trading Beckham, including to the Rams — threatening to permanently damage the relationship between star player and franchise — and where we stand now.

Shurmur, who hasn’t even coached a game yet for the Giants, in my mind has earned his first win — and maybe the most significant victory of his Giants head coaching career — by getting Beckham to buy back in during this rollercoaster offseason. They’ve spoken frequently throughout this drama, and look at the result.

Beckham did his part, too. Seeing his Giants career literally on the ropes — believe whatever you want, it’s true — Beckham did not throw a public fit. He showed up to the start of voluntary offseason workouts on April 9, knowing that Shurmur wanted him and all other players there even though it was optional — even though Beckham’s camp had leaked in late March that he wouldn’t step on a football field without a new deal.

Or to say that a different way: Beckham, who has every right this offseason to take a stand on what he deserves to be paid, made the team bigger than himself.

Beckham was at last week’s voluntary mini-camp, too, and even though he didn’t practice fully, this is the truth: You wouldn’t have known he had broken his ankle by the way he played. And if I had told you he had broken his ankle and asked you to pick which one, you would have guessed that wrong, too. He looks that good.

Gettleman played ho-hum on WFAN’s “The Afternoon Drive with Carlin, Maggie and Bart” on Monday when asked if Beckham’s relationship with the Giants organization is in a good place.

“Sure, why shouldn’t it be?” Gettleman said.

Well, Dave, because you were discussing trading him, that’s why, and because even though you didn’t, the reality that you almost did created a natural rift, and the fact you still haven’t paid Beckham has kept uncertainty brewing.

Beckham’s relationship with the Giants seems to have reached a better place since, but again, I credit Shurmur and Beckham for that. Whatever the head coach has told Beckham behind the scenes, what is obvious is that Shurmur has prioritized Beckham, knowing he is his best player and treating him that way with the commensurate attention.

That doesn’t necessarily mean enabling Beckham’s behavior, as the previous regime did. But it does mean being direct, open and honest, and letting Beckham know how important he still is. I mean, Shurmur even said last week that he had sat down with Beckham one-on-one prior to mini-camp just to explain what the coach was trying to accomplish. A coach doesn’t need to do that; he does it when he wants a player to feel included and to show him he’s allin on OBJ.

“We constantly communicate, we had a great conversation yesterday,” Shurmur said last week before the first mini-camp practice. “(Odell) came in and we sat down as we were getting ready for this minicamp so we could talk about what we were trying to get accomplished. We’ve spoken on the phone, we text, it’s just like any relationship. We’re very honest and open with one another and we communicate frequently.” As for Beckham’s contract negotiations, Gettleman in my opinion just hurt any argument he would make against overpaying for a receiver by drafting (and therefore overpaying) a running back at No. 2 overall.

The pay structure gives Saquon Barkley, who never has played a down in the NFL, $31 million guaranteed, the second-most all-time for a running back, per Spotrac, behind only Adrian Peterson ($36 million). Barkley’s $7.8 million average value on his contract already ranks fourth in the entire NFL among RBs, behind only the Steelers’ Le’Veon Bell ($14.5 million), the Falcons’ Devonta Freeman ($8.25 million) and the Bills’ LeSean McCoy ($8 million), per overthecap.com.

But Beckham isn’t worth up to $18 million per year to the Giants in a receiver’s market with the ceiling at $17 million but sure to climb as the league’s salary cap continues to rise? Sorry, Dave, not buying it.

Now, certainly Beckham has to understand that his past misbehavior, especially that pizza party video in early March, is the primary reason a deal isn’t done already and likely rules out his desired $20 millionper-year price tag (and maybe it even leads the Giants to ask for penalty clauses in his contract, too).

Still, the numbers are staring Gettleman in the face that Beckham deserves to be paid. Consider four of the highest-paid receivers who signed extensions of four years or more the last two years: the Steelers’ Antonio Brown ($17 million average, No. 1 among WRs), the Bucs’ Mike Evans ($16.5 million, No. 2 among WRs), the Texans’ DeAndre Hopkins ($16.2 million, No. 3 among WRs) and Jarvis Landry ($15.1 million).

Gettleman continues to say meaningful negotiations haven’t even begun. He even answered “no” on WFAN Monday when asked if he and Beckham’s camp had even agreed to a timetable for when meaningful talks would occur. But this is a missed opportunity if Gettleman isn’t engaging Beckham’s agent, Zeke Sandhu, now. There is good will again between Beckham and the Giants, and the GM needs to capitalize before this gets ugly again. hat more does Gettleman need to hear? The GM may have been mighty proud to see Barkley on that stage in East Rutherford on Saturday, but here’s the truth: the most important press conference of the Giants’ offseason still hasn’t happened yet.

And it won’t until Beckham steps to the podium smiling as the Giants’ new $90-to100 million man.

W