Beckham wants to be legendary, says he’s done nothing yet
EASTRUTHERFORD, N.J. » Odell Beckham Jr. isn’t satisfied being the NFL’s highest-paid receiver.
The three-time Pro Bowler for the New York Giants wants much more than the $95 million deal the team agreed to pay him Monday. The 25-year- old wants to be one of the best to play in the NFL.
“Like I said, before I was even in the NFL, I wanted to be legendary,” Beckham said Tuesday. “Yeah, the money is great, you can take care of your family, you can take care of kids one day that you’ll possibly have. But my goal was always to be in the Hall of Fame, to win trophies, to be able to leave a legacy that will be remembered way past any money that you make.”
In a wide-ranging interview, Beckham said the broken left ankle that sidelined him most of last season might have been the best thing to ever happen to him. It forced him to struggle to get back on the field and helped him ma-
ture after many slipups off the field.
That new-found maturity and his willingness to work while his contract issues were being settled went a long way in convincing co- owners John Mara and Steve Tisch to open up the vault for Beckham.
“I think he’s matured quite a bit,” Mara said after
practice. “I think that stuff hopefully is in the past. I think he’s ready to go on and be the type of player and citizen that we expect him to be, and I think he will be.”
Beckham, who was in the final year of his rookie contract, never doubted a new deal would be done before the start of the season.
Mara also said reports that the Giants were listening to trade offers for Beckham in the offseason were blown out of proportion.
He said it would have been irresponsible not to listen.
“There was always an intention that he’d be a part of this team,” Mara said.
The major concern was his ankle. The owners wanted to make sure he was fully recovered from the Oct. 8 injury that limited him to four games.
After watching him practice against the Detroit Lions in mid-August, Mara knew the 2014 firstround pick was ready and a deal had to be reached be-
fore the start of the season on Sept. 9 at home against Jacksonville.
“It’s not like it’s going to change the way that I want to play and the way that I want to perform,” Beckham said of the contract which includes a $20 million signing bonus and $65 million in guaranteed money.
Beckham said he stayed away from the negotiations, letting his agent Zeke Sandu and the Giants’ hierarchy handle the talks.