Odell Beckham Jr., while recovering from his torn ACL, has not been the talk of the media like he’s used to, and he recently brought his 6-month-old baby and partner to the ESPYs. The beautiful family paraded the red carpet amid speculation on where the Super Bowl winner will land, back on the Rams or to another team, making people scratch their heads on if the ESPYs family hustle was a clout chase.
He holding the baby with one hand he do everything with one hand
— Keldon Johnson Enthusiast (@bigsgkelon) July 21, 2022
The 29-year-old wide receiver has always been a phenom, from his days at LSU to the one-handed catches he made as a member of the New York Giants. After a fruitless stint with the Cleveland Browns and the ill-fated Baker Mayfield as his QB, Beckham found his championship-winning stride on the Los Angeles Rams with another veteran looking for a ring in quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Krazy thought … really played the whole back half of the season without an acl, and won a super bowl! God doesn’t misss, i swea
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) July 3, 2022
The two won their first NFL Championship in February, and since then, it has been primarily crickets about OBJ aside from the birth of his first child, Zydn, with his partner Lauren Wood. The two have reportedly been dating since 2019, and they welcomed their son on Feb. 17, ia few days after OBJ won Super Bowl LVI.
Wood first gained popularity as a participant on the MTV improv-comedy show “Wild N’ Out” in 2015, appearing in the sixth and seventh seasons of the show. Ironically, she also appeared on the HBO football drama series “Ballers” in 2019. Now life is imitating art as she is fully immersed in the life of an NFL player.
Say what ya want… earned this tho pic.twitter.com/e0FBDvtEKJ
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) July 23, 2022
With Wood having well over a million followers on Instagram, OBJ has the perfect cocktail for clout. But will it get him to where he wants to be on the football field?
In early June, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay married his longtime companion Veronika Khomyn. His star-wide receiver crashed the wedding, but it was a statement of their bromance which looks like it extends to the playing field.
“I mean, I love Odell. So only in Odell’s fashion could he be the wedding crasher at our wedding,” McVay said on the I AM ATHLETE Podcast. “He showed up and crashed the wedding. I said, ‘You crashed my wedding, you re-sign with the Rams then, man.’ That’s a given right there.”
Although it sounds good, it seems like everyone else in the NFL is getting their bag except OBJ. Donald was scheduled to make $55 million over the next three years, with $14 million in compensation in 2022. He will make $95 million over the next three years, with $31.5 million in salary this coming season.
“You crash my wedding, You resign with the @RamsNFL then” 👀😂 @obj @IAATonight pic.twitter.com/Fh2XWAJRJy
— I AM ATHLETE (@IAMATHLETEpod) June 8, 2022
That is one reason people are scratching their heads over the free agent not being re-signed yet with the Rams. Beckham is a free agent. Many of his former fans from his days with “Big Blue” still believe Beckham should have never been traded. From winning his Offensive Rookie of the Year back in 2014 to being traded in 2019, Beckham received a five-year, $90 million contract extension with the Giants before the 2018-2019 season. Then he was traded less than a year later?
While OBJ is a pop culture staple and now making his son Zyndn one, the league is still at odds about showing him the money, even though it clearly is there. Until then, the clout chase remains afoot.
