ESPN: Giants Value Odell Beckham Jr. Below Sammy Watkins in Contract Talks

How highly do the New York Giants value Odell Beckham Jr.?

Apparently not even as high as Sammy Watkins.

ESPN's Josina Anderson reported Beckham's agent has left Giants camp after giving up on striking a long-term deal for the time being. The two sides remain far apart on money, with the Giants reportedly offering Beckham a lower per-year salary than the Kansas City Chiefs gave Sammy Watkins.

Watkins signed a three-year, $48 million contract with the Chiefs this offseason.

From a production standpoint, there is no comparison between Beckham and Watkins. Both selected in the first round of the 2014 draft, Beckham has 121 more receptions, 1,372 more receiving yards and 13 more receiving touchdowns. Beckham has been to three Pro Bowls and made two All-Pro teams; Watkins has never been selected for either.

That the Giants offered Beckham a lower annual value for his contract than Watkins could signal they're willing to ride this out and franchise him in 2019. He is currently playing under a $8.5 million contract for 2018 under the fifth-year option of his rookie deal. 

Watkins was able to cash in this offseason because the Buffalo Bills declined his fifth-year option before trading him to the Los Angeles Rams. Despite playing in 15 games last season, Watkins recorded just 39 receptions for 593 yards and eight touchdowns; his contract was one of the more perplexing of the spring.

"Of course. Who doesn't want to get more money? Everybody does," Beckham told reporters of wanting to be the highest-paid receiver in the NFL. "Realistically, you try to be realistic with yourself. You see what happened over the offseason. Can't really worry about everybody else. Just let them figure it out, and whenever it happens it will happen."

Beckham missed 12 games last year due to injury but had at least 90 receptions, 1,300 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in each of his first three NFL seasons. If he were to hit the open market, there's little doubt he'd become the highest-paid receiver in league history.

But as it stands, there's little recourse of action here. The Giants will simply franchise him after this season if they're unable to reach terms on a long-term contract that's favorable to their long-term cap. Beckham, meanwhile, would probably have to play out at least two years on a franchise tag—the Le'Veon Bell, Kirk Cousins model—before becoming an unrestricted free agent.