Agent’s Take: Odell Beckham Jr.’s resurgence in L.A. has put receiver on a path toward another huge payday

What a difference three months make. At the middle of the season, Odell Beckham Jr. was on the road to becoming an NFL pariah. He was considered selfish, a distraction, a malcontent and a diva. Beckham was thought to be a declining player with diminishing skills. His best football days were supposedly behind him after tearing the ACL in his left knee during the 2020 season. A 2019 trade to the Browns was a failure.

The Browns couldn’t give Beckham away. Nobody was willing to take on the remaining $8,055,556 of Beckham’s 2021 base salary and the final two years of his contract worth $30 million in a trade. Every team passed on a chance to claim Beckham through waivers after he reworked his contract to eliminate his 2022 and 2023 contract years to help secure his release.

Once Beckham became a street free agent, Bruce Arians, head coach of the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers, dismissed the notion of adding Beckham. “We’ve already got AB (meaning Antonio Brown), we don’t need OBJ, too many letters,” said Arians.

Teams weren’t lining up to break the bank for Beckham. He chose the Rams over the Packers for his next destination. Beckham signed a contract with a base value of $1.25 million ($750,000 in base salary and a $500,000 signing bonus) worth up to $4.25 million through incentives for the remainder of the season.

The incentives are tied to the Rams’ playoff success. Beckham earned $500,000 for a wild-card game win against the Cardinals. He made another $750,000 each for divisional playoffs and NFC Championship Game victories over the Buccaneers and 49ers. There’s an additional $500,000 for making it to the Super Bowl and $500,000 more for winning. All of the incentives are also predicated on Beckham being on the game day active roster and participating in at least one offensive play for that particular contest.

Beckham was viewed as a luxury, not a necessity for the…