How Baltimore Ravens signing Odell Beckham impacts DeAndre Hopkins
The Baltimore Ravens surprised many when they signed Odell Beckham to a $15M deal. Many thought it would be incentive based without guarantees, but the deal was pretty firm. It surprised fans, media, and apparently other teams as well.
How Baltimore Ravens signing Odell Beckham is impact DeAndre Hopkins
It also apparently caught the eye of DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins, who is 30, and coming off of two seasons with injuries and suspensions knows that he was making too much money on his current deal. So, as he seeks a new deal, he will not get as much as his last deal, but he certainly wants every last penny.
One thing that is helping him right now is the Odell Beckham Jr. deal. In fact, if it were not for the Beckham deal, the Kansas City Chiefs may have already signed Hopkins.
🏈 More on @DeAndreHopkins 🏈
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 27, 2023
• The Chiefs and Bills were the only teams to have substantive trade talks with Arizona.
• As was the case with Kansas City, contract was the issue for Buffalo.
• KC made progress, but @OBJ's deal ($15M base) more or less blew that progress up.
This does make sense. Hopkins knew he had to take less money, but for all of the questions with age and injury he has, Beckham has as many, or more. Hopkins can point to that contract and say that this is his worth. Apparently, Kansas City was fine at a cheaper price, but this was too much. They balked.
Breer goes on to note that at the current price, both Buffalo and Kansas City are out. So, this obviously helps the Ravens in a few ways. First, they have Beckham, and the deal fits their salary cap, so it is not a huge issue. However, their biggest impact is that right now their rivals are frozen out. They thought that they could get Hopkins cheaper, and now they have to pay as much or more than Baltimore. So, anyone bad-mouthing the deal would know that a contender just made a similar bet.
Beyond that, the Bills and the Chiefs being out only opens the door wider for DeAndre Hopkins to the Baltimore Ravens. Sure, the Ravens would have to give him a similar deal to Odell Beckham, but with the void years they gave Beckham, they could easily fit that in their current salary cap.
So, if the signing goes to the highest bidder, Hopkins may not end up in purple and black. However, if Hopkins slowly realizes that the bidding war is not as intense as he thought, he may look to the best quarterback at a good enough price tag.
Next. 5 reasons to be excited about the Baltimore Ravens. 5 reasons to be excited about the Baltimore Ravens. dark
The Ravens' signing of Odell Beckham may have boxed out the Chiefs and Bills from signing Hopkins, and in turn, made it easier to sign Hopkins. If you credit the deal for helping bridge a Lamar Jackson contract as well, the Odell Beckham signing is starting to become a lot more valuable for its off-of-the-field impacts.