Odell Beckham Jr is one of the most talented wide receivers in football, so picking up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract seems like a no-brainer for the New York Giants. It would be shocking if they let Beckham hit the free agent market next offseason, but for some reason they have yet to make their decision official.
Ralph Vacchiano of SNY notes that there “seems to be no doubt at all” that the Giants will exercise Beckham’s option, yet they won’t say so publicly with the deadline less than two weeks away.
“We are going to discuss that when the time gets closer,” general manager Jerry Reese said on Thursday. “We will keep all of our options open with respect to that.”
The fifth-year option on a rookie first-round pick’s contract guarantees the player an average salary of the third-through-25th highest-paid players at their position. That number will likely work out to around $8 million for Beckham in 2018, which seems like a bargain for a 24-year-old when the highest-paid receivers are making around $15 million annually.
Still, both Reese and Giants co-owner John Mara have been asked about Beckham’s option this offseason, and neither has made it seem like a foregone conclusion that the team will exercise it. Reese did, however, say Beckham needs to “grow up” after the infamous party boat excursion before New York’s playoff game.
“I think he’s a guy that hears what we’re saying,” Reese said recently. “And like John (Mara) said, ‘We are not worried about Odell.’ He’s a young kid, he’s growing up every day, and we think that he’s going to continue being a tremendous football player and a tremendous representative of our organization here.”
The Giants are almost certainly going to pick up Beckham’s option, but the comments from their top executives could indicate they will be slightly more cautious with offering the star wideout a lucrative contract extension. After all, Beckham has done a lot of immature things (see: punching a hole in a hall) and often lets his emotions get the best of him. Investing huge money in players like that is always a risk.
