Time for Big Blue to drop big bucks on Beckham before it becomes an issue

SO THE draft came and went, and Odell Beckham Jr. is still a Giant. Dave Gettleman didn’t quit on talent after all. Between now and the opening of training camp, the Giants should build on the momentum of good vibes and engage in serious negotiations with the Beckham camp and reach a deal t hat wil l make him the highest-paid receiver in football: t h re e ye a r s , $54 million-$57 million or five years, $90 million-$95 million. Something along those lines. Yes, pay the man. It appears Beckham has begun to play ball with the new regime, can’t wait to play ball with his new fast friend /“Lil brudda” Saquon Barkley and form a younger Killer Bs tandem than Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell.

No one is interested in the distraction of a training-camp holdout that would mar the beginning of the Pat Shurmur era.

Beckham and Shurmur have the beginnings of a relationship forged on honesty and mutual respect, and there are encouraging signs John Mara’s loud message that no one is untouchable in the wake of Beckham’s latest behavioral foible in Paris seems to have been received.

Of course, with so many mil- lions on the line, why the hell wouldn’t it be?

Beckham accommodating Shurmur and the organization by showing up for some of the offseason program was, at the very least, a good-faith gesture.

A healt hy, happy Beckham made even more dangerous by Barkley’s presence is an intoxicating thought to Mara, Steve Tisch, Gettleman, Shurmur, Eli Manning and everyone on down.

Mara has made it perfectly clear first to Beckham, then to the football world, that he would much prefer talking about his

otherworldly talents than his maddening indiscretions … that he would impose a zero-tolerance policy on stupidity if he could.

But the bottom line for the Giants is this: They would rather play with Beckham than against him … even if he hasn’t been scared straight, even if he doesn’t grow all the way up.

They will be obliged to count on the notion that it is more important for Beckham to be remembered as legendary than for him to be remembered as a legendary embarrassment in a market that is made for the mag- nitude of his star.

The opportunity to play the next five years with Barkley — and even display leadership in a big-brother role — should have both sides at the negotiating table on the same page.

Passing on Sam Darnold and the rest of the Class of 2018 quarterbacks and riding with Manning and adding Barkley and man-eating guard Will Hernandez and left tackle Nate Solder has brought back that old, familiar, win-now feeling to the Giants.

So much can change from one year to the next, and Gettleman has begun changing the roster and the locker room in earnest.

He has made good on his introductory promise to kick ass for a franchise that needed a good asskicking.

The job is far from complete — the defense will need cover from the offense — but a healthy, happy Beckham would go a long way toward giving it.

Training camp is three months away. Let’s make a deal. There are encouraging signs that he is all-in.

At the end of the day, the rewards far outweigh the risks.

At the end of the day, the headaches he might cause would pale in comparison to the migraines he would give defenses in the prime of his career.

At the end of the day, the Giants will have to trust him that he knows better, and wants Super Bowl champion as part of his legacy.

Again: The Giants will simply have to ask themselves this question: Would you rather play with him or against him?

Let’s Make A Deal.