Getty Image / Megan Briggs
After more than a year of speculation, football fans finally learned where Odell Beckham Jr would play next over the weekend.
He’ll be joining the Baltimore Ravens on a 1-year deal worth $15 million with incentives that can take it to 18 million.
Today, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio revealed how Beckham Jr will be able to earn those incentives during the 2023 season.
OBJ has a fairly easy path to take his $15M compensation package to $18M. Here are the details. https://t.co/zQW0rYi5vB
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) April 12, 2023
“Per a source with knowledge of the terms, Beckham can earn an extra $1 million based on three categories: receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.
The formula for receptions goes like this, for receptions: (1) $250,000 for 30 catches; (2) $500,000 for 40 catches; (3) $750,000 for 50 catches; or (4) $1 million for 60 catches, or if he leads the team in receptions.
For receiving yardage, it’s this: (1) $250,000 for 250 yards; (2) $500,000 for 500 yards; (3) $750,000 for 750 yards; or (4) $1 million for 1,000 yards, or if he leads the team in receiving yards.
For receiving touchdowns, it’s this: (1) $250,000 for three; (2) $500,000 for five; (3) $750,000 for seven; or (4) $1 million for nine, or if he leads the team in receiving touchdowns.”
The top incentive levels all seem pretty reachable for a multi-time Pro Bowler who was once seen as one of the top wide receivers in the NFL. However, they might not be as easy to reach as they appear.
Beckham Jr hasn’t reached the 3rd tier for any of the categories since 2019. He hasn’t scored 7 touchdowns in a season since 2016.
The option to lead the team in any of these categories seems like a reasonable path to some incentives, but he’ll have some stiff competition for the top spot in every receiving category.
The Baltimore Ravens will be expecting their investment in Rashod Bateman to start paying off this season, but the bigger obstacle for Odell will be Mark Andrews.
Andrews is just a season removed from being football’s top tight end with 107 catches for 1361 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Even last year he had 73 for 847 and 5 TDs despite missing a pair of games and having to play with Tyler Huntley for 4 weeks.
It’s still a possibility that Odell Beckham Jr can hit the numbers he needs to earn his incentives, but he’ll need to play the best football he has played in years.