The New York Giants and Odell Beckham Jr. made the important step of beginning contract negotiations last week. However, it seems like the two sides still have a long way to go based on the offer currently on the table.
According to Josina Anderson of ESPN, the Giants and Beckham’s agent, Zeke Sandu, were unable to agree on Beckham’s true value. Furthermore, the team is currently valuing OBJ an average salary below Chiefs wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who makes $16 million per year.
Watkins is currently the fifth highest-paid receiver in the entire NFL, behind Antonio Brown ($17M), Mike Evans ($16.5M), DeAndre Hopkins ($16.2M), and Brandin Cooks ($16.2M). Considering Beckham’s likely goal to become the highest-paid wide receiver in the league, he probably found not even breaking into the top five to be a bit insulting.
At the very least, Beckham has proven to be significantly more productive than Watkins, who was drafted eight spots higher than OBJ in the 2014 NFL Draft. The Giants wideout has had three years of over 90 catches, 1,300 receiving yards, and 10 touchdown catches, while Watkins has had no season where he’s reached even one of those statistical benchmarks.
It remains to be seen if the $16 million per year is the Giants’ initial or final offer. Regardless, it’s hard to see Beckham’s camp taking a deal so low given his status as one of the best wideouts in the game.
There’s still time for the two sides to come to terms after the initial failure to get a deal done, but the Giants may need to significantly improve their offer for Beckham to even seriously consider accepting it.
Follow Us
Subscribe
