Since entering the league in 2014, Odell Beckham Jr. has become a household name across the country. His speed, agility and great hands make him one of the best wide receivers in the league, and he also has had one of the hottest starts to a career in NFL history. With the end of his rookie contract approaching some would say it is a no-brainer to sign him long-term and that is exactly what the New York Giants did; his extension is five years at $95 million, with $65 million guaranteed.
While this seems like no problem, paying a receiver this kind of money is almost as much as some of the best quarterbacks in the league make. The main issue is receivers, no matter how talented, are not worth that type of pay. It has been seen in the past that overpaying for wide receivers can seriously hurt the team as a whole. The first example that receivers should not be paid quarterback money is seen in Calvin Johnson. Johnson, or sometimes referred to as “Megatron” was extremely talented and can be argued by some as one of the best wide receivers ever to play. He once signed a quarterback-like deal giving him a $100 million contract. While at the time it seemed like a great idea, it left the Detroit Lions with little money to help build a team around him. In his nine-year career, Johnson only made it to the playoffs twice, losing both times. Eventually, the frustration got to the veteran receiver, and he ended his career early because he felt the team wasn’t good enough. The problem is that his team couldn’t get much better because they didn’t have any cap room to sign another big-name player to help the situation; this is an issue that the Giants will run into in the future. The team has some serious talent on offense with rising stars like Evan Engram, Sterling Shepard and possibly Saquon Barkley. Let’s also not forget to mention the stars on the defensive side of the ball on pro bowlers like Landon Collins, Oliver Vernon, Janoris Jenkins and Damion “Snacks” Harrison.
With Beckham Jr. making over $95 million with his new contract, the Giants will not be able to afford these big names not only on offense but on defense as well. With these pieces leaving the defense will become worse, and Beckham Jr. will be the only top player on offense. Once he becomes the only big name on offense teams will double team him and put a stop to his numbers.
Receivers are nice to have because they can bail a quarterback out or even change the game. However, without other pieces, their production helping the team win will not shine as much. An example of this is when Beckham Jr. made his career-defining catch against the Dallas Cowboys in 2014. He leaps over defensive back Brandon Carr to catch the ball with his fingers while falling into the end zone. The only issue with this amazing catch is that the Giants went on to lose that game to the Cowboys making his catch pretty much irrelevant.
Quarterbacks like Tom Brady, other than Randy Moss, never had the “freak of nature” talent like Beckham Jr. on his team. He has been working with good receivers which he made better because of his talent. Even when Brady had Moss they lost the Super Bowl to the Giants where a no-name receiver David Tyree made the catch of his life, forever sealing his name in Super Bowl history.
Beckham Jr. is one of the best receivers in the game and any team would be lucky to have him; however, it has to be for the right price because unlike a quarterback, a receiver can’t make the other players around him that much better. One receiver that Beckham Jr. can be compared to is Terrell Owens., one of the greatest to ever play. Owens, however, had an attitude problem, therefore he switched teams a lot and never won much.
It’s no secret that Beckham Jr. is one of the best in the league, however, it is a mistake to sign him as the highest paid receiver in the NFL. The Giants should have looked to trade him to another team. At first, it seems crazy, but listen to a scenario like this: New York trades Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns for one of their first and second-round picks. Now the Giants would have the second overall pick, the fourth overall pick and an extra second round pick. Imagine the Giants having Barkley, Sam Darnold and an extra second rounder.
The Giants are clearly in a win now mode, if they win a Super Bowl or two in the next three or four seasons this works out. However, if they don’t win and they lose their pieces, this could be a huge mistake for the future of the franchise.
