LSU Admits Odell Beckham Jr Gave Tigers Players Real Money After National Championship
By Mark Powell
As much as LSU officials wish Odell Beckham, Jr. had just been handing out monopoly money to their student-athletes after the Tigers won the National Championship over Clemson, that's simply not the case.
For one, Joe Burrow has admitted as much, stating that OBJ, a former LSU star himself, hand-delivered a reward to he and several other members of the Bayou Bengals on the field in celebration of their tremendous achievement.
While we can joke about the merit of the school and NCAA debating punishment over what amounts to chump change compared with the amount of money made by the tax-exempt governing body of college sports, it's technically against the rules.
LSU is backtracking because they have no choice. Despite the fact that most players Beckham Jr. handed bills to, including Burrow and Justin Jefferson, have since announced their intentions to enter the NFL Draft, they were still under scholarship at the time, making it illegal. We can only hope that at most the University receives a slap on the wrist for such matters, as it would be rather obtuse otherwise.
Meanwhile, Ed Orgeron and Dabo Swinney received bonuses in excess of $600,000 for their appearances in Monday's showcase.