Odell Beckham Jr

Odell Beckham Jr. started his career in college football as a wide receiver playing for the Louisiana State University wherein he displayed remarkable skills in the sport. It was this recognition that led to his draft by the New York Giants during the 2014 National Football League (NFL) draft. Despite being the 12th player to be drafted by the team and suffering a hamstring injury in his rookie year, Odell consolidated his position in the game and went on to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2014. In a couple of years Beckham went on to become the fastest player in NFL history to reach both 200 career receptions and 4,000 career receiving yards. He reached the NFL playoffs for the first time in 2016 after his 100th reception leading the Giants to an 11-5 season record. Drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2019, Beckham faced several injuries in the three seasons playing for the team. He was released by the club in his third season with them in November 2021 and was signed for a one-year contract by the Los Angeles Rams. He scored his first career playoff touchdown and won his first Super Bowl championship while playing for the Rams.

Odell Beckham Jr. Early Life and Background

Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Heather Van Norman and Odell Beckham Sr., Odell Cornelious Beckham Jr. is the eldest of three children. His parents were both accomplished athletes in their time. His father was an outstanding running back at Marshall High School and played running back at LSU between 1989 and 1992. Beckham's mother, Heather, also attended LSU as a track runner. His stepdad Derek Mills was also a sportsperson. He attended Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he was involved in a range of athletic endeavors which included football, basketball, and track. In football, he played wide receiver, quarterback, running back, and cornerback for the Greenies football team. His success in school football led him to be named in the Times Picayune 2011 Blue-Chip list. He was selected by several colleges and he chose to play for the Tigers at LSU. It was in his second year playing for the Tigers that he played his first career collegiate game against the Towson Tigers which resulted in 38-22 victory. It was in this game that he achieved five receptions for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Due to such performances he was awarded the Paul Hornung Award, which is given annually to the best player in the major college football league. He finally said goodbye to the 2013 season with a thrilling 57 receptions and eight touchdowns before being drafted by the Giants in the following year.

Who Drafted Odell Beckham Jr. ?

Beckham was drafted by the New York Giants in 2014 as the 13th overall pick of the season. His career started with injuries but took a positive turn later in the season when during the finale against the Philadelphia Eagles, Beckham had a career-high 185 receiving yards, which was the most in a game by a rookie in franchise history. After completing 5 seasons with the club, he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 2019 NFL draft. After undergoing major surgery and repeated injuries, Beckham was released by the club in 2021 after having played intermittently over three seasons. In November 2021 Beckham signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Rams. It was while playing with them that he scored his first career playoff touchdown and went on to win his first Super Bowl championship. He has not been signed by any club as of yet but there have been speculations about his future club affiliation in the NFL.

Odell Beckham Jr. NFL Journey

While playing for the New York Giants in the first five seasons of his NFL career, OBJ had to overcome several injuries to shine in the first three seasons with the club. On the basis of sheer talent he recorded 91 receptions, 1305 yards and 12 touchdowns in his first season. It was in this season, while playing against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, that OBJ had 10 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns which included the well-known one-handed touchdown referred to as the “catch of the year” in popular media. He made this catch while diving backwards with his right hand fully extended, using a three-finger grip. He had been named as the first-alternate in the year’s Pro Bowl and was the first rookie wide receiver of the Giants in the history of the franchise to have played in the Pro Bowl, after Calvin Johnson had to be replaced owing to an injury. In his next season, Odell Beckham Jr. recorded 96 receptions, 1,450 yards, and 13 touchdowns. It was his most productive season in the league, recording season highs in yards and touchdowns. In his third season, he recorded a season-high of 101 receptions while adding 1,367 yards and 10 touchdowns. During the 2017 season, the wide receiver suffered a fractured left ankle. He suffered a fractured left ankle in Week 5 of the regular season and was limited, recording only 25 receptions for 302 yards and three touchdowns. The next season, OBJ recorded 77 receptions for 1,052 yards and six touchdowns.

Odell Beckham Jr. joined the Cleveland Browns in 2019. The team acquired him from the New York Giants on 13th March, 2019, for Jabrill Peppers, Kevin Zeitler, and the Browns' first- and third-round picks in the 2019 NFL draft. He saw his best success with the Browns in the first season of the two-and-a-half he spent in Cleveland. He recorded 74 receptions, 1,035 yards, and four receiving touchdowns. In 2020, he played in seven games before tearing his ACL in Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Before his season ended, he recorded only 23 receptions for 319 yards and three touchdowns. He recorded 17 receptions for 232 yards and zero touchdowns in the last six games that he played for Cleveland.

OBJ played six games the next season for the Browns before being released and signed by the Los Angeles Rams. The free agent receiver is expected to sign with a team in the near future and it's expected to be either the Dallas Cowboys or Buffalo Bills.

Odell Beckham Jr. Teams

New York Giants (2014-2018)

It was Beckham's tenure with the Giants that made him one of the most recognizable names in professional sports, with the receiver rewriting the NFL record books, recording 390 receptions, 5,476 receiving yards and 44 touchdowns in five seasons with the Giants. He finished the final season with 77 receptions, 1,052 yards, six touchdowns, and threw two passes for touchdowns. He was ranked 23rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019. However his career trajectory was not always smooth during his tenure at the club. In the third season, for instance, he had been fined $12,154 in the first week itself due to a dance-celebration of the club’s victory against the Cowboys. He was fined yet again in the following week for- $36,000 for a blindside hit on safety Kenny Vaccaro while playing for the Giants against the New Orleans Saints. It is noteworthy though that in this season (2015) he reached the target of 200 receptions in only 30 games, being the fastest player to achieve the target. In his final season with the Giants, OBJ became the first non-quarterback with multiple passing touchdowns in a season since Antwaan Randle El in 2010.

Cleveland Browns (2019-2021)

Beckham had a tumultuous journey while playing for the Browns. His first season began well when during the second week itself, while playing against the New York Jets, Beckham finished with 161 receiving yards, including a one-handed grab for 33 yards and later, an 89-yard touchdown as the Browns won 23–3 in his first game back at MetLife Stadium since being traded. He was involved in a number of controversies in the following weeks as he threw a punch at Ravens' cornerback Marlon Humphrey who then responded by choking Beckham. Both the players were then fined $14,037 for their actions. Despite having to battle a sports hernia and undergo a core muscle surgery in the beginning of the following year, Beckham shone in the second season with the Browns by surpassing 1,000 receiving yards on the season for the fifth time in his career while playing against the Cincinnati Bengals in the 17th week of the season. In the following season(2020) he led the Browns towards victory against the Dallas Cowboys by making a rushing touchdown after which he was unfortunately placed on injured reserve due to a torn ACL.

Los Angeles Rams (2021: one-year contract)

Beckham scored a touchdown in 5 of the 8 games that he played for the Rams. Beckham scored his first career playoff touchdown on January 17, 2022, in the Wild Card Game against the Arizona Cardinals. Beckham caught nine passes for 113 yards in the 20–17 win against the San Francisco 49ers, helping the Rams advance to Super Bowl LVI. In the Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals, Beckham scored the game's first touchdown, a 17-yard reception. Unfortunately, yet another injury prevented Beckham from playing for the entire game that the Rams went on to win 23–20, earning Beckham his first career Super Bowl championship.

Odell Beckham Jr. Awards and Achievements

Odell Beckham Jr. Records

New York Giants franchise records

• Most receiving yards in a season, rookie: 1,305

• Most receptions in a season, rookie: 91 (tied with Saquon Barkley)

• Most receptions in a game by a rookie wide receiver: 12 (2014 season: Week 15 vs. Washington Redskins and Week 17 vs. Philadelphia Eagles)

• Most games with at least 50 receiving yards, rookie, season: 9

• Most games with at least 75 receiving yards, rookie, season: 9

• Most games with at least 100 receiving yards, rookie, season: 7

• Most games with at least 125 receiving yards, rookie, season: 6

• Most games with at least 150 receiving yards, rookie, season: 2

• Most games with at least ten receptions, rookie, season: 4

• Most games with at least two receiving touchdowns, rookie, season: 4

• Consecutive games with at least ten receptions: 2

• Most receiving yards at home, rookie, season: 767

• Most receptions at home, rookie, season: 52

• Highest average receiving yards per game, season: 108.8

• Highest receiving yards per catch (min. 50 catches), rookie, season: 14.34

• Most receiving touchdowns in a game, rookie: 3 (2014, Week 15 vs. Washington Redskins)

NFL Records

• Fastest to reach 100 career receptions: 14 games

• Fastest to reach 150 career receptions: 21 games

• Fastest to reach 200 career receptions: 30 games

• Fastest to reach 250 career receptions: 38 games (tied with Michael Thomas)

• Fastest to reach 3,000 career receiving yards: 30 games

• Fastest to reach 3,500 career receiving yards: 36 games

• Fastest to reach 4,000 career receiving yards: 42 games (tied with Lance Alworth)

• Most games with at least 125 receiving yards in first three seasons: 13

• Most receptions in first 15 games of career: 110

• Most consecutive games with at least 90 receiving yards: 9 (2014, tied with Michael Irvin)

• Most consecutive games with at least 130 receiving yards and one touchdown: 4 (tied with Patrick Jeffers and Calvin Johnson)

• Most games with at least ten receptions, rookie, season: 4

• Most games with at least ten receptions, 100 receiving yards, rookie, season: 4

• Most games with at least 125 receiving yards, rookie, season: 6

• Most receptions at home, rookie, season: 52

• Most receiving yards in any calendar month, rookie: 606 yards (December 2014

• Highest average receiving yards per game, rookie, season: 108.8

• Only player in NFL history to have at least 1,300 receiving yards while playing in 12 or fewer games in season

Odell Beckham Jr. Net Worth

As of 2023 Odell Beckham Jr. has a net worth of around $40 million. He has had an estimated career earning of around $82 million in NFL salaries. Odell Beckham Jr. has also made earnings through endorsement deals with brands such as Nike, Steiner Sports, Head & Shoulders, EA Sports and Dunkin Donuts.

Odell Beckham Jr. Contract

Odell Beckham Jr. is currently a free agent. He last played for the Los Angeles Rams and won the Super Bowl with them in 2022. His last NFL contract (with the L.A. Rams) was worth $1.25 million which included a signing bonus of $500,000. The most expensive contract he had signed was with the New York Giants in 2018, worth $95 million and a guaranteed amount of $65 million.

Odell Beckham Jr. Family

(L-R) Zydn Beckham, Odell Beckham Jr. and Lauren Wood attend the 2022 ESPYs at Dolby Theatre on July 20, 2022 in Hollywood, California.

Odell Beckham Jr. was the only child born to Odell Beckham Sr. and Heather Van Norman. His father, Odell Beckham Sr.was an athlete who played football as a running back during his school as well as college years.

Heather Van Norman was a track runner at the University of Minnesota in 1988 where she was lauded as the Freshman Track Athlete of the Year. In the year 1991 she helped set an American record in the 4x200m relay, following that up in 1992 with an SEC indoor title in the 400m run and spot in the U.S. Olympic Trials that were held in New Orleans. She is currently working as the head coach for the Women’s Track and Field Team of Nicholls Athletics.

OBJ is currently in a relationship with the young model and actress Lauren Wood. She was seen cheering and celebrating during Beckham’s first Super Bowl victory. Soon after, in February itself, Lauren gave birth to their first baby together- Zydn. The trio were seen attending the ESPY Awards in July, 2022.

Odell Beckham Jr. Super Bowl Wins

After 8 seasons in the NFL, Odell Beckham Jr. finally managed to get his hand on the Vince Lombardi trophy with the Los Angeles Rams in the 2022 Super Bowl (LVI). The Rams faced the Cincinnati Bengals in a close match which ended 23-20 in favor of the Los Angeles side. Odell Beckham Jr. managed one touchdown in the match and with two successful receptions, he managed to cover 54 yards.