Fresh off serving a PED suspension, Giants legend Odell Beckham Jr. entered into viral controversy again.
In an appearance on “The Pivot Podcast” in November, Beckham insisted that even a $100 million contract can feel tight, a claim that instantly drew criticism from those living far outside NFL wealth.
“If I don’t have a dollar in my account right here, today, as we speak, I’m gonna be straight for the rest of my life,” Beckham began in a clip shared on X/Twitter. “No question, right?”
“I don’t think everybody is in that,” he ill advisedly continued. “And when you’ve sacrificed your whole life to get here … I always explain to people, you give somebody a five-year, $100 million contract, right? What is it? Really? It’s five years for 60 (years). You’re getting taxed. Do the math, that’s $12 million a year that you have to spend, use, save, invest, flaunt, like, whatever. I’m 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, eight a year, you know? And now you start breaking down the numbers, it’s like, that’s a five-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, like, ‘Oh, well, that would last a lifetime.’”
For the record, it should.
The average teacher’s salary in the USA is $72,030 before taxes, according to the National Teacher Association. It would take the average teacher approximately 1,388 years to match Beckham’s $100 million.
Beckham’s comments come after he served a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy — a punishment he has continued to dispute. The veteran receiver has maintained that he did not knowingly take a banned substance, but the league’s ruling has nevertheless sidelined him and added another layer of scrutiny to his remarks about financial awareness across the NFL.
The star wide receiver played 10 seasons on five different teams. He’s earned close to $101.9 million in that time.
