In case you haven’t heard, Odell Beckham Jr. wants to be the NFL’s highest-paid player. Not its highest-paid receiver. He wants to make more money than anyone in the league. While it’s hard to argue OBJ isn’t worth more than most, it’s also not hard to see that a receiver being paid more than some other positions — namely quarterback — is ludicrous.
This is exactly the argument laid out by Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver, Mike Evans, when he was asked about OBJ’s comments.
“Odell’s trying to be the highest paid in the league,” Evans said, per ESPN’s Dan Graziano. “He is the face of the NFL, but I don’t know if he should be the highest-paid PLAYER. He’s the highest-paid in endorsements, so that’s good. But as far as highest-paid player, quarterback is the most invaluable position in team sports. So I would think a quarterback. But he should be definitely paid as one of the top three receivers, though.”
Obviously, the first takeaway here is that Evans rightfully sees quarterbacks as the “most invaluable” players. We’ve seen far too often that excellent receivers are subject to being frustrated when teamed up with mediocre quarterbacks. DeAndre Hopkins was a vivid example of this last year when Brock Osweiler started for the Houston Texans.
However, the more subtle, and perhaps more salient takeaway here is that Evans doesn’t see Beckham Jr. as being worth more, per se, than other top receivers.
When asked who the other two in that group of three would be, Evans amended his statement somewhat, realizing he’d like to be included in that group and said, “Well, me and him should be tied, then, but Julio (Jones) and A.B. (Antonio Brown).”
A.J. Green might have something to say about all that. But Evans’ point is on point, regardless. As talented as Beckham Jr. is, he’s one of the top guys at his position, but he’s not the top guy.
That OBJ needs to get paid is undeniably true. He’s set to earn just over $1.8 million in base pay this upcoming season, which ranks No. 43 in the NFL. The Giants know he needs a big raise and have said as much.
But the notion that Beckham Jr. needs to set the market for receivers, or that he should be the NFL’s highest-paid player, is a miles away from reality.