Giants owner John Mara: 'We're going to pay' Odell Beckham

EAST RUTHERFORD -- Giants co-owner John Mara said it's a question of when, not if, the team is going to hand wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. a lucrative contract.

"He deserves to get paid. We're going to pay him. It's just a question of when we enter into the contract," Mara said on Friday after the Giants' first practice of training camp. "And I don't have a timetable on it right now. I just don't feel like there's any need to rush into it, but he's going to end up getting paid at some point."

Beckham's contract became a hot topic after the wide receiver said he wanted to be the highest-paid player in the NFL in a video released on Thursday. Beckham is due to earn just $1.8 million in the fourth-year of his rookie contract. The Giants have exercised Beckham's $8.4 million fifth-year option for 2018 and they have the option of using the franchise tag in subsequent seasons.

Despite having most of the leverage in the situation, Mara said the Giants are open to negotiating an extension with Beckham.

"You'd like to lock him up long-term, you'd like to keep him happy, but there's no urgency to do it," Mara said. "I think we want to get to it at some point. Whether it happens during the season or after the season, I just can't give you a timetable on it."

There haven't been any negotiations yet, but Mara thinks talks will start "sooner rather than later." Beckham reported to training camp without incident and said he's prepared to play this under his contract.

"There's no reason to rush into this," Mara said. "He's going to get paid a lot of money at the appropriate time. You can argue that the appropriate time is now, but you can argue both sides of that, I guess. It will happen when it happens."

Mara said Beckham  doesn't have to prove anything to the organization before his big payday.

"I think he's just got to keep doing what he's doing and keep playing," Mara said. "He's going to get a long-term contract. We're not asking him to prove anything at this point. Just keep playing as hard as you've been playing and continue your growth off the field as a person and I'm confident he's going to do both. He's a very smart young man, very talented player ... He's somebody that we want here for a long time."

Despite Beckham's lofty goal, Mara doesn't foresee the receiver vaulting over the top quarterbacks to become the highest-paid player in the league.

"I think probably every player would like to be the highest-paid player in the game, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over that," Mara said. "I don't have a problem with him saying that. We'll enter into negotiations at the right time. I'm sure we'll be able to come to an agreement."

Dan Duggan may be reached at dduggan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DDuggan21. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.

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