NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. is back in the spotlight, this time off the field. An interview he gave to The Pivot went viral on social media this week, after the player revealed the complexity of managing finances in professional sport. The 33-year-old stopped playing in the league in 2024 for the Miami Dolphins, but ruled out retirement.
Even with a salary accumulating more than $100 million throughout his career, Odell says maintaining that money isn’t as easy as fans might imagine.
During the conversation, Wide receiver He explained that federal and state taxes are the main factors that significantly reduce the amount athletes in the league receive. For example, he gave a hypothetical five-year contract.
“If you give someone a five-year contract for $100 million, what’s that really? It’s five years for $60 million,” he said. “You’ll pay taxes. Do the math: That’s $12 million a year you have to spend, use, save, invest, splurge on… whatever.”
Odell went further, commenting that young athletes, who are unprepared and under pressure to succeed, end up incurring huge expenses with no idea of the long-term impact.
Conditional closure.
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“I’ll buy a car, I’ll give my mother a house,” he explained. “Everything costs money. So, if you spend $4 million a year, that will be $40 million in five years, and $8 million a year.”
Beckham, a Super Bowl champion and one of the most popular players of the past decade, emphasized that financial education is a gap in the sports environment. He said many athletes rise to the top quickly but without any solid guidance on how to protect their wealth.
The NFL itself records numerous cases of former players facing financial difficulties a few years after their retirement.
As he prepares for the next decisions in his league career, Odell Beckham Jr. left a warning to everyone who only looks at giant contract numbers.