Giants Make Odell Beckham Jr. the Highest Paid WR in the NFL

Last season, New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. played in just four games due to an ankle injury that turned out to be a fracture, requiring season ending surgery. In a supreme–and expensive–vote of confidence, the Giants rewarded Beckham with a four year contract extension worth $95 million, with a whopping $41 million guaranteed and with up to $65 million in total guarantees according to the NFL Network. This deal makes him the highest paid wide receiver in the NFL, and the highest paid offensive player who is not a quarterback.

Is he worth that kind of money? It’s all relative to what the market is paying for top flight players, and Beckham has the stats to show he’s in the Antonio Brown–Jarvis Landry–Julio Jones–Any Other Elite Receiver You Can Name group. He led the NFL in receiving yards per game in his rookie year of 2014, at 108.8. He has 38 touchdowns in 48 games, and had 1305 receiving yards in 2014, 1450 in 2015, and 1367 in 2016. He’s also apparently all healed up from the ankle injury to command that kind of contract. He won’t turn 26 until November, and with this tacked on to the last year of his old contract, the Giants will have him through 2023, when he’ll turn 31, so they won’t be paying a lot of money for a guy well past his prime at the end. Plus, he’s a playmaker; the Giants are much better offensively when he’s on the field.

It’s always a gamble to sign a player to a huge contract, but that’s the nature of things in pro sports. Of course, now Beckham will have to continue to show he’s worth it to the Giants fans and the New York media. No pressure there, right?

Here’s a link to a highlight reel of Beckham in action