Odell Beckham Jr. apparently gave some LSU players cold hard cash after they won the national championship again Clemson. So what? Yes, that should be it. That should be the reaction. Instead, the reaction was this:
Statement from #LSU on Odell Beckham Jr. who appeared to be handing out money after the national championship.
The school was in contact with the NCAA and the SEC immediately.
“We are working with our student-athletes, the NCAA and the SEC in order to rectify the situation.” pic.twitter.com/ot9vVTPekU
— Brooks Kubena (@BKubena) January 15, 2020
Seriously, NCAA? Odell Beckham Jr. was excited his alma mater won the College Football Playoff. He threw out some money. It’s his money, and he can spend it how he wants . . . well except by giving it to some college kids who aren’t allowed to make money off their hard work and performance.
Yes, it is illegal under NCAA bylaws, but this reaction is exactly why everyone hates the NCAA. For years, players weren’t allowed to make money off their likeness. This wouldn’t affect the NCAA. It wouldn’t make these players non-amateurs in the eyes of many fans. Still, the NCAA pressed on. That’s slowly changing because the NCAA realized it couldn’t win the fight, but the fact that LSU had to report this action to the NCAA is ludicrous. Last time I checked, ESPN pays $5.6 billion for the television rights for the championship and CFP 6 bowls. That’s $470 million a year. What’s the most Odell could have given a kid last night? Maybe a few hundred dollars. It’s crazy.
There’s no way LSU could avoid this mess since Joe Burrow admitted Beckham Jr. was giving people cash on the Pardon My Take Podcast, but this shouldn’t be a story. It should be a cool thing. Now, it’s either funny or sad, and it’s tough to decide which one it is.
LSU QB Joe Burrow tells @PardonMyTake that, yes, @OBJ was giving away real money after Monday night's victory https://t.co/LNT2aZiAF2
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 15, 2020
If Beckham only gave money to graduating seniors or players who were intending on declaring for the draft anyway, it’s even more confusing as to why this is a story. These players weren’t student-athletes the second after that clock struck zeroes and the party started on Bourbon street.
To recap: Odell Beckham Jr. gave money to players who can’t have a job, don’t get paid, and make the NCAA, conferences, coaches, ESPN, and everyone else involved a ton of money. They are the only people who don’t get compensated — and please don’t give me the scholarship argument, it’s old and not nearly as much money as some big-teams generate. So, OBJ compensated them. Good for him. He’s the only person in the right in this situation.