Odell Beckham Jr. has gone out of his way to play nice with the New York Giants as he enters the final season of his rookie contract, and it seems like his approach could end up being rewarded.
Jordan Ranaan of ESPN reports that Beckham’s representatives and the Giants opened discussions about a long-term contract extension earlier this week. The report comes days after team owner John Mara said the two sides had not begun talking but expected to “sooner rather than later.”
There had previously been talk that Beckham could hold out like a handful of other players across the NFL have done, but he has consistently shown up to mandatory workouts and reported to training camp on time.
Beckham, 25, is set to make $8.5 million on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract in 2018. He wants to be one of the highest-paid — if not the highest-paid — receivers in the league. That would require the Giants making a commitment of about $55 million guaranteed and a salary of around $17 million per year.
Beckham has had plenty of issues off the field over the years, which is one of the reasons the Giants could be hesitant to give him a long-term deal. Ultimately, however, it appears things are heading in the right direction.
