Certain Players Break The Media
Having a player like Beckham on my favorite team has honestly been kind of illuminating about how the modern sports media works for me. I more or less understood it, but it really highlights the entirety of everything that makes the perpetual 24 hour sports news cycle of nonsense work.
Beckham is a big name. He’s popular for both good and bad reasons. He’s a personality that naturally generates strong opinions. Lots of people love him. Lots of people hate him. Nobody can stop talking about him, which generates more content, which generates more hate or love, which etc etc etc. That’s how John Mara saying a completely reasonable thing (To paraphrase: “We went 3-13, we aren’t looking to trade him, but after a season like that nobody is untouchable) somehow turned into a two day media frenzy at the peak of which seemed like Beckham was 100% being traded. It was fucking stupid.
But it was amazing to watch it work. Mara says the thing. Noted buttmunch Pat Leonard of noted buttrag The New York Daily News decides to get his name in the papers and run with that quote out of necessary context, playing up the possibility of a trade. This speculation, fueled by it being about a very attention grabbing player, churns the content machine. Articles about “could Beckham be traded” gives way to loads of content and radio talk like:
-Why would the Giants trade Beckham?
-What is Beckham worth?
-Why Beckham should be traded
-Why Beckham should not be traded
-What teams are interested?
-Where would be a good fit should Beckham be traded?
-How does Beckham fit into the new Giants regime’s plans?
-Could his coke pizza video and other antics have caused this?
-etc etc etc
The nonsense caused such an uproar that at one point I checked the NFL subreddit and 1/3rd of the front page was posts related to Beckham. It was obscene. All because Mara basically said “We aren’t looking to trade him, but people are free to call, sure”. It got stupid enough that Mara and Tisch had to come out with clarifying remarks trying to emphasize that no, the Giants were not actively trying to trade Beckham. Fuck you, Pat Leonard.
The weirdest part about this to me was the story about his pizza video never got half this much chatter. When that broke I audibly said “uh oh this is gonna get ugly” to myself. It never really got that big. Beckham’s pizza video doesn’t have the content generating potential a trade does. Speculation gets the views. It makes some sense. Speculation is a fun conversation for fans, the media is probably smart to jump on it.
There’s still a possibility that he ends up traded. There was always a small possibility, which was Mara’s original comment. I think there are very few untradable players in the NFL, it’s just that many of these players would command such a steep price that no team would be willing to do it. It’s happened like, twice in NFL history. Hershel Walker and Ricky Williams are the obvious cases. Both ended very badly for the team that gave up the ransom. But if you are the Texans, and the Browns call up offering 3 1st rounders and 2 seconds for JJ Watt, you’d better believe the GM is going to at the very least consider it. Not even Brady truly felt untouchable these past few seasons with Belichick running the show.
Beckham is currently said to be on the market for at least 2 first rounders, which seems fair to me. I don’t think any team is going to do it and I don’t expect him to be in a different uniform next year. On top of the steep asking price, Beckham has one year left on his rookie deal and by all accounts wants that mega money for his next contract. If a team wants him, they need to be willing to part with 2 first rounders, minimum, for basically a year rental unless they have the cap space to go all in.
Now you can endlessly speculate about whether Beckham should be traded, where he might go, and what he’s worth in the comments below! Please be sure to like, comment, and subscribe.
But let’s be honest here, despite all the media circus, how many people ACTUALLY thought that he had a chance in hell to be traded? In my opinion, if you’re the Giants, you gotta hold on to him no matter what. Yeah, you had a crappy season, but he’s still young, so he can still be a part of the team for years to come. Also, he’s a generational talent. When you get a building block like that, you just don’t trade them after a little adversity.
My goal is to see a headline that includes Tim Tebow, Johnny Manziel, Colin Kaepernic and OBJ all at once.
Also if ESPN ever tries to figure out why they had to lay off so many people or why people don’t watch anymore… I’ll always think of last off-season when ESPN tried to link every single team to Colin Kaepernick and Johnny Manziel, and had a National Anthem blog post for every team and every game.
THIS JUST IN! In response to my request for commentary on potentially trading, Mike Tomlin replied “What?” Could the Steelers be angling to add to the Killer B’s!?!?!? Massive speculation says DEFINITELY!!!!
Dan Devine is still widely hated in Packers fandom for the John Hadl trade for 2 1st rounders, 2 2nd rounders and a 3rd rounder for a 34 year old QB.
CHECK OUT MY NEWEST MOCK DRAFT AND SEE WHO THE BROWNS ARE DEFINITELY TAKING TO PAIR UP ON OFFENSE WITH THE ALMOST CERTAIN TO BE ACQUIRED ODELL BECKHAM AND NEW STARTING QB COLIN KAEPERNICK!!!!
*Editor Notes: This post is pure speculation. However, the likelihood that these events could transpire are somehow linked to Tiger Woods being considered a favorite at the Masters, Bama being the only college football playoff team next year, and Tom Brady being the greatest PLAYER in the history of football.
Starting Tim Tebow and Colin Kaepernic’s love child*
IS BRET FARVE TIM TEBOW’S DAD? SOME EXPERTS SAY MAYBE, OTHERS AREN’T SO SURE
The only untradeable player in the NFL is (probably) Aaron Rodgers.
Also Dave, you aren’t a YouTube. And Beckham will clearly be playing for the Frankford Yellow Jackets.
the point is that no one is *strictly* untradeable. There’s always a price, which is the point Dave is making.
The better the player is, the more expensive.
The closer his ties to the franchise the more expensive he is
the more loved he is by the fans the more expensive he is
The younger he is the more expensive he is
The better options the team have to replace him immediately the cheaper he is
The point is there is a point at which Anyone could be tradeable. Now maybe it’s not physically possible for a team to get enough capital to actually make that offer on Rodgers, but deals can always include future rounds “14 1st round picks over 6 years +a bunch of 2nds and thirds” might get the job done
Even without the media stupidity regarding OBJ, there’s still their obsession with LeBron, especially from FS1.
*shudder*
Just about my only dealings with ESPN Radio now are Freddie & Fitz, SC All Night, First & Last and Golic & Wingo. After 3pm my time (10am Eastern) it just turns into asshole central with LeBatard, Stugotz and Stephen A Smith. Will Cain is okay, but my shifts tend to mean I don’t catch his show.
Dave,
the mouseover text made me suddenly burst out laughing in the middle of class (specifically reading Bama…haha)
Thanks a ‘frikken lot.
Robert Griffin to Ravens, dear god Flacco please dont get hurt.
I’ve read 5 articles about this today. They all end with Colin Kaepernick.
His desire to be the highest paid player in the NFL next year is the sticking point. Otherwise, I would make the godfather offer: an entire draft class for OBJ. Wait, wait hear me out! A 2018 1rst, a 2019 2nd, a 2020 3rd, etc…That’s seven picks for one player! No way the Giants refuse, but at the same time it’s spread out enough to mitigate short term pain for the trading team. Plus it would be hilarious to see sports talking heads still tediously discussing the ‘fallout’ of the OBJ trade in 2025.
No way Beckham moves as it stands. Realistically he would need a new contact before teams would even be considering a first round pick, let alone two.The Giants organization is basically saying “He’s not for sale, but if you nuke your next two drafts and he is yours.” The bar is set incredibly high for a reason. If they honestly wanted to move on from Beckham they could of done it by now, especially when you consider how trade happy teams are this offseason.
It took me a while to find the headquarters
I like how the blown up building looks like the board game concentration
I can’t believe Cooks actually got traded. Again.