For most Americans, a six-figure salary equals financial security. So it’s easy to assume NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. has cemented his security with an eight-figure, $100-million, five-year contract.
But on a recent episode of The Pivot Podcast, the 33-year-old suggested that living off $20-million a year is a challenge.
“That’s a five-year span,” he said. “Can you make that last forever?”
After all, Beckham argued, you have to remember that it isn’t really $20 million a year after tax — more like $12 million (1) “that you have to spend, use, save, invest, flaunt, whatever.”
“Just being real, I’m going to buy a car, I’m going to give my mom a house. Everything costs money.”
Judging by the backlash, his fans and even some multimillionaire NFL peers think Beckham may have lost touch with reality.
“Getting paid more in one year than most Americans will earn in total over the course of their working lives and still making excuses for blowing it is wild,” one user posted on X (2).
Ex-NFL safety Su’a Kristopher Cravens, originally drafted into the NFL for $4 million, questioned how anyone with a $100-million contract could run out of cash.
Cravens noted that six years after leaving the NFL, he can “live the lifestyle I desire, while also saving money and putting my kids in the position to win later in life.(3)”
“These guys that touch over 10 million and blow through it sounds like pure user error on their end,” he posted.
So is Beckham “being real”? Turns out one’s concept of a comfortable, secure life is subject to inflation, too.
Some X users were quick to highlight some of the reasons they believe Beckham might be struggling to manage his multi-million-dollar paychecks.
Several pointed out that the star wide receiver often wears a limited edition Richard Mille watch worth nearly $190,000 while playing (4)(5).
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They also shared media reports of his car collection, worth an estimated $2.4 million (6).
Another user pointed out his two-year ban from Louisiana State University for handing out wads of cash to student athletes (7).
Simply put, Beckham’s financial struggles may have less to do with progressive taxes and more to do with untamed lifestyle inflation.
That’s a problem that many high-income earners face long before they enter the seven-figure club.
Nearly half of Americans in a Bankrate survey said they’d need a $100,000 annual salary to live comfortably, with a quarter saying their threshold was $150,000 (8).
But those who actually make $150,000 don’t necessarily feel comfortable.
In fact, in 2024, roughly one in five Americans earning more than $150,000 a year said they were living paycheck-to-paycheck, according to the Bank of America Institute (9).
It’s called lifestyle inflation. In other words, you can’t outearn bad spending habits.
Streamlining your budget could give you a sense of financial security and freedom regardless of the size of your paycheck.
Living within your means is challenging, especially when your income is rapidly expanding. But there are ways to resist the natural temptation of overspending.
Perhaps the most effective strategy is to set a fixed and automated savings rate.
For instance, you could use a money-saving app that automatically takes 10% or 15% of your monthly income for savings and investments.
A 2022 study published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that such guaranteed savings rules significantly boosted the chances of savers hitting their financial goals (10).
Another way to tackle lifestyle inflation is to delay major lifestyle upgrades for as long as possible.
If you find that your income suddenly allows you to move to a bigger home or upgrade your car, delaying that decision by six months to one year, for example, could give you a period of accelerated savings that can compound over the long term.
Whether you make $80,000 a year or $20 million, the battle against lifestyle inflation is the same.
The numbers change, the psychology doesn’t.
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
The Pivot (1); X (2, 3, 4, 5); ClutchPoints (6); CBS Sports (7); Bankrate (8); Bank of America Institute (9); Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (10)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
