The 33-year-old legendary wide receiver, currently a free agent, certainly got people talking with his “tone-deaf” remarks during an interview last month. Now, those comments from Odell Beckham Jr. are making the rounds online, stirring up plenty of debate.
During an October 7 episode of ‘The Pivot Podcast,’ Beckham Jr. laid it all out for hosts Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder, and Fred Taylor. He truly believes that even a $100 million, 5-year deal wouldn’t secure him for life.
Let’s be real, this isn’t his first major bag. The Super Bowl champion previously inked a 5-year, $95 million deal with the New York Giants in 2018, plus a 5-year Nike endorsement for about $5 million annually back in 2017. But despite all those millions, Beckham Jr. insists it doesn’t automatically mean he’s set for life.
During his interview, Beckham Jr. said:
“If I didn’t have a dollar in my account right here today, as we speak, I’m going to be straight for the rest of my life. No question. Right? I don’t think everybody is in that. And when you’ve sacrificed your whole life to get here and you’re like, ‘Yeah, I played 10 years in the league.’
And I always explain this to people. Like bro, you give somebody a 5-year, $100 million contract, right? What is it really? It’s 5 years for $60M. You’re getting taxed. Do the math—that’s $12 [million] a year, you know, that you have to spend, use, save, invest, flaunt—just being real. I’m going to buy a car, I’m going to give my mom a house. Everything costs money. So, if you’re spending $4 million a year, that’s really $40 million over five years—$8 [million] a year [from a projected 5-year/$100 million contract with tax deductions included].
You start breaking down the numbers. That’s a 5-year span of where you’re getting $8 million. Can you make that last forever? And you always hear the people who ain’t us and ain’t been in the position [say], ‘Oh, well, that would last a lifetime.’ Yeah, this job that I sacrificed my whole life for, they are giving me that. I didn’t ask for a certain dollar amount or whatever. But, we weren’t taught about no financial literacy and all the ways—we weren’t taught this skill.”
After all the chatter, Beckham Jr. hopped on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, December 2, to address the uproar. He wasn’t holding back. He wrote:
“Boy u can’t say nothin in this world nowadays😂, that’s why I been in my own lane my own world n put the way. People love to take Shxt completely outta context to rationalize a statement in their own head that makes sense to them… what a world.”
He even dug up an old tweet from March 17, 2022, to emphasize his point. The original tweet said:
“As if I needed more motivation. Ima make my son proud asf when I’m done wit all this, from what I did on the field, to the way I handled all the other Shxt that came wit it. Zydn…son I love u… and daddy gone make u proud. I mean tht.”
To that old tweet, his recent reply simply stated, “Of course u wouldn’t understand what I’m sayin…..”
Former NFL Players Chad Johnson & Shannon Sharpe Weigh In On Odell Beckham Jr.’s $100M Contract Claims
But before Odell Beckham Jr.’s latest comments, Chad “Ocho Cinco” Johnson and Shannon Sharpe already dropped some gems on their ‘Nightcap’ YouTube show. These former
ballers broke down the real deal about money management for professional athletes, offering some much-needed perspective.
Sharpe said:
“OBJ, I’m going to be honest with you, bro. If you get 60 million dollars liquid and that can’t last you a lifetime, you’ve got a problem … Do you really need 10 houses? Do you really need 15 cars? Do you need to buy everybody in your family a house that costs a million or two million dollars?
First of all, if you buy somebody in your family a house that costs a million or two million dollars, first of all, they can’t afford the upkeep on it. Because if they could, they’d have it already. See, it ain’t the payment. It’s the upkeep, when ish goes wrong. You buy somebody a Mercedes, a Ferarri, a high-end car…if something happens to it, who are they calling?”
Sharpe didn’t mince words, calling it “insane” to spend four million a year without other business ventures. “You out of your damn mind. Ain’t no way in hell I’m spending 4 million a year,” he declared.
Meanwhile, Ocho Cinco, while initially trying to understand Beckham Jr.’s stance, ultimately sided with Sharpe. “Aye, Unc. That’s a lot of money there, boy. $4 million a year? God,” he exclaimed, clearly shocked by the potential spending.
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