‘Organize A Canned Food Drive’: Odell Beckham Jr. Tells “Pivot Podcast” It’s Been Hard Making Ends Meet With Five-Year, $100 Million Contract
Free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has enjoyed many highs and lows throughout his NFL career. The former LSU standout who popped on the scene as a rookie in 2014 when he made an improbable one-handed catch versus the Dallas Cowboys in primetime, was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year that season. It looked like OBJ was destined for greatness, but things aren’t always as they seem.
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In five of his first six seasons, OBJ finished with over 1,000 yards receiving yearly and a grand total of 48 touchdowns. His seventh season is where things started to unravel, albeit injuries, lack of self-discipline and other factors, and since then OBJ hasn’t surpassed 565 yards receiving in any of those seasons. Beckham was even suspended for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, and suspended the first six games of this season. The talented but at times mercurial receiver was reinstated earlier this month and recently appeared on “The Pivot Podcast,” where he discussed money and NFL contracts.
HEARTBREAKING: Former #Giants star Odell Beckham Jr. talks about the struggles of 100 million contract & how the money does not last forever.
“You give somebody a 5-year, $100 million contract. It’s 5 years for 60. We’re getting taxed: That’s 12 a year”pic.twitter.com/BbKsRjq4ML
— MLFootball (@MLFootball) November 29, 2025
OBJ Says NFL Contracts Are Not What They Seem
During a recent visit to the podcast with host Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder, Beckham talked about NFL money and why it’s not as much as it seems. While with the New York Giants Beckham signed a five-year, $95 million deal, with $65 million fully guaranteed, despite landing what looked like life-changing money, Beckham told “The Pivot” that’s the money ain’t what it seems.
“You give somebody a 5-year, $100 million contract. It’s 5 years for 60. We’re getting taxed: That’s 12 a year”
“You’re getting taxed. Do the math—that’s $12M a year, you know, that you have to spend, use, save, invest, flaunt…”
Hearing OBJ almost cry over making $12 million a year to live off of and basically saying it isn’t enough while so many are living paycheck to paycheck is wild. In many ways it also proves how some athletes have a distorted sense of reality. He didn’t say $12K or $120K, he said $12 million, and that’s a monumental difference.
Fans Let OBJ Have It
It didn’t take long for fans to come for OBJ in the aftermath of his comments…
“Someone should organize a canned food drive for Odell. The poor guy only made $12 million a year,” one fan said.
“Lol it’s ridiculous. There are people out here trying to survive on 40,000 a year he’s complaining about 12 million a year,” another fan said.
“It takes a professional victim to complain about a 100 million dollar paycheck,” another fan mentioned.
“Only 12 a year? Damn how he gonna feed his children,” another fan quipped.
OBJ Was On Track To Be Super Bowl MVP
While the aforementioned one-handed catch is probably Beckham’s most electrifying moment, the talented wideout was on track from something even bigger as he played for the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI. Prior to tearing his ACL on a catch in the second quarter, Beckham was the best player on the field, having scored a touchdown and two receptions for 52 yards.
Former teammate Jalen Ramsey called him “the igniter,” and believes had he not gotten hurt he would’ve hoisted the MVP trophy and not teammate at the time Cooper Kupp.
