Odell Beckham Jr. Comments on Dealing with Celebrity

New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. once dreamed of being the talk of the town after the Giants selected him No. 12 overall in the 2014 NFL draft. His wishes have come true after two successful seasons, as he's developed into one of the top wide receivers in the league.   

Now that he's in the spotlight, Beckham told reporters at Giants minicamp practice on Tuesday that when he looks back on those desires, he thinks, "Careful what you wish for," per ESPN.com's Dan Graziano.

The attention, though, is what he expected, especially after recording more receiving yards in his first two years than any other player in NFL history, according to the Giants on Twitter. 

"It just comes with the territory," Beckham said. "I feel like I could hide under a rock for 364 days, and then the one day I come out, it's going to be a story. People just need something to talk about sometimes."

Beckham's celebrity status isn't only on the football field; he's graced the cover of video games and appeared in numerous commercials:

He became a regular in celebrity gossip in May, when MediaTakeOut.com reported he was dating Khloe Kardashian. Prior to that, he told DraftKings TV in April that he was living with rap artist and Toronto Raptors fan Drake. 

Graziano said Beckham added he "hates" that this kind of attention "could be a distraction for his team, and that a lot of what's written about him isn't true."

However, the Giants haven't approached Beckham about his time away from the field. As long as he keeps the well-being of the Giants in mind, then it's unlikely his off-field life will get him in trouble. But being a young sports superstar in New York does have its dangers. 

It was in this market that the likes of Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor, along with New York Mets stars Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, saw his career unravel.

Those, of course, are extreme cases. Though he’s just 23 years old and has the world at his fingertips, Beckham seems to have the right attitude to avoid similar troubles.