Friday 28 July 2017 17:07, UK
New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr wants to become the NFL’s highest-paid player.
The 24-year-old will the one of the league's best bargains this season, as he enters the fourth year of his rookie contract and is set to make $1.84m (£1.41m).
The Giants have already picked up Beckham Jr's fifth-year option for 2018, meaning he will earn $8.46m (£6.47m) next season.
The deal still puts him a long way behind the NFL's highest-paid player Derek Carr, who averages $25m (£19.1m) per season after signing a recent five-year extension with the Oakland Raiders.
The NFL's 15 highest-paid players are all quarterbacks. Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller is the highest-paid non-quarterback with an average salary of $19.1m (£14.6m).
Pittsburgh Steelers star Antonio Brown is the NFL's highest-paid wide receiver with an annual salary of $17m (£13m) - a figure that puts his joint-23rd on the NFL's overall list.
But Beckham Jr, who is one of the NFL's most marketable stars, is hoping to buck that trend when he negotiates his second contract.
"It's like the elephant in the room, and you don't want to talk about it," Beckham said in an UNINTERRUPTED video on Thursday. "But I've gotten to the point in my life where I'm like, 'No, I'm going to ... there's no need to not talk about it.
"I believe that I will be hopefully not just the highest-paid receiver in the league, but the highest paid, period."
The Giants are yet to begin talks with Beckham Jr over an extension but they are determined to keep the Pro Bowl receiver, according to co-owner John Mara.
"They haven't begun as of yet, but they'll happen at the appropriate time," Mara told the New York Post. "I don't think we have a time frame on it. But we certainly don't want to see him playing in another uniform.
"He's as exciting a player as we have had on this team in my lifetime, and he brings a lot of energy, a lot of big plays to us.
"He needs to work on controlling his emotions a little bit more. But when he is on the field, the other teams have to pay attention to him ... and he strikes fear into the eyes of the other team.
"As long as you have that ability, he makes your team better. He just adds a lot to us. We really haven't had a player like that here for a long time."
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The regular season of home and away matches run from September to December 2017, culminating in PlayOffs from January 6, 2018 and the Super Bowl on February 4, 2018 at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota to determine the world champion.
