Don’t expect to receive top deal
First things first: Odell Beckham Jr. is not going to become the highest-paid player in the NFL. Not now, not soon, not ever.
That stratosphere is inhabited by quarterbacks, and no other position group is allowed in. Derek Carr of the Raiders is the highestpaid player in the league, averaging $25 million per year. The 15 highest-paid players are all quarterbacks, including Eli Manning at a cool $21 million annual average.
Asked if he could envision any scenario in which a wide receiver could become the NFL’s highest-paid player, Giants coowner John Mara actually chuckled.
“I can’t think of one, no,’’ Mara said. “The quarterback is always going to be the highest-paid player.’’
And so, Beckham’s desire to sit atop the salary mountain is not going to become reality. Still, he is sitting on a lottery haul, as Mara on Friday made it clear the Giants have every intention of making the 24-year-old a very rich man.
“Listen, he deserves to get paid, we’re going to pay him, it’s just a question of when we enter into the contract,’’ Mara said. “I don’t have a timetable on it right now. I don’t feel there’s any need to rush into it. He’s going to end up getting paid at some point.’’
When that point comes, what will the final numbers look like? The Giants are prepared to make Beckham the highest-paid receiver in the league, a distinction that currently belongs to the Steelers’ Antonio Brown, who averages $17 million on a four-year, $68 million deal. A.J. Green of the Bengals averages $15 million, Julio Jones of the Falcons averages $14.25 million and the Cowboys’ Dez Bryant and the Broncos’ Demaryius Thomas both come in at $14 million a year on average. Jones has the largest guarantee at $35.5 million.
Beckham is on course to eclipse all that money. Given his age, figure the Giants want to lock him up with a five-year contract. Figure a five-year deal worth $90 million makes sense. It will be difficult for Beckham to become the first-ever $100 million receiver, as the Giants most likely will not want to extend the deal to six years. A five-year contract worth $100 million would be a bonanza for Beckham.
“Listen, that’s a great goal to have, I don’t have a problem with him saying that,’’ Mara said of Beckham’s desire to be the NFL’s highest-paid player.
Beckham said he has no idea if he can break the vise-grip hold quarterbacks have on the top salaries.
“I still don’t know the answer to that,’’ Beckham said. “It’s not really up to me. All I can do is what I do on the field, control the things I can control and that’s not one of them.’’