National Football League

Odell Beckham believes NFL players should be paid better

Published May. 18, 2015 7:17 p.m. ET

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Odell Beckham is rolling in the endorsements this off-season, but the New York Giants wide receiver believes football players should be paid better.

When asked by The Huffington Post what he'd change about the NFL, he was quick to point out NFL players' wages compared to those who play baseball or basketball professionally.

"I think that we should make more money, personally," Beckham said.

Due to the violent nature of football, careers are often cut short and a majority of players miss out on their premium earning years.

"I understand that basketball plays 80-something games, baseball plays this many games, soccer plays that many games, but this is a sport where there's more injuries," Beckham said. "There's more collisions. It's not even a full-contact sport; I would call it a full-collision sport. You have people running who can run 20 miles per hour and they're running downhill to hit you, and you're running 18 miles per hour. That's a car wreck. It's just the career is shorter. There's injuries that you have after you leave the game, brain injuries, whatever it is, nerve injuries."

Beckham, who was selected No. 12 overall, was signed to a four-year, $10.4 million fully guaranteed deal last year.

Assuredly, Beckham isn't alone with his thoughts. Unfortunately, the pay scales were collectively bargained by the union and the league less than five years ago.