Carmelo Anthony is the latest celebrity to weigh in on Odell Beckham Jr.’s claim that a $100 million contract can’t last forever, saying that the NFL star has a point.
Though Beckham, 33, made those comments back in October during an appearance on The Pivot podcast, the video was recently circulated on social media, sparking a conversation after it went viral.
Beckham, during a discussion on the podcast, gave a breakdown on why he felt that a $100 million contract can’t last a lifetime.
“I always explain this to people, you give somebody a five-year, $100 million contract, that’s five years for 60,” the former New York Giants star said at the time, per Complex. “We’re getting taxed. That’s 12 million a year that you have to spend, use, save, invest, flaunt, whatever.”
“I’m just being real,” Beckham, who made the news in 2018 after he signed a then-record-breaking $95 million contract with the New York Giants, added. “I’m going to buy a car, get my mom a house. Everything costs money. If you’re spending $4 million a year, that’s really $40 million over five years, eight million a year. You start breaking down the numbers, and that’s a five-year span, you’re getting eight million. Can you make that last forever?”
Despite the backlash that ensued after his claim, former NBA star and Hall of Famer, Carmelo Anthony, 41, recently stated that he understood where Beckham was coming from and also gave his own breakdown of the expenses incurred from a five-year, $100 million contract.
Anthony, in the recent episode of his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, stated that fans are unaware of how the amount reduces after taxes, fees, and lifestyle changes kick in, Complex reported.
“That’s $100 million, but it’s not really $100 million over a five-year span,” the New York Knicks legend explained on.
Anthony also noted that in certain areas including New York, federal, state, and city taxes can quickly take almost 50% or even more than half of an athlete’s earnings.
“You’re talking 58 percent to 60 percent or 48 percent, half your check,” Anthony said. “So that 10 goes to 5 over five years. And within that five, you’ve got other taxes you gotta pay.”
Anthony explained that besides the taxes, athletes additionally have other important financial endeavors.
“You’ve gotta live,” he said. “You gotta get a house, take care of your moms, you got your agency fee, all this sh*t happening within that $5 million.”
Anthony further highlighted that an athlete’s “lifestyle changes drastically” with that kind of money, and that “drastic lifestyle change f*cks you up mentally.”
The 41-year-old noted that the drastic lifestyle change is the “gray area that f*cks a lot of athletes up.”
Anthony weighing in on Beckham’s claim came after the NFL star took to social media on Tuesday, December 2 to respond to the backlash that came his way after the video went viral, Face2Face Africa previously reported.
“Boy u can’t say nothin in this world nowadays, that’s why I been in my own lane my own world n put the way,” Beckham wrote on his X account. “People love to take Shxt completely outta context to rationalize a statement in their own head that makes sense to them… what a world.”
