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Odell Beckham: NFL Players 'Should Make More Money'

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Odell Beckham Jr.'s young career has gotten off to a brilliant start.

After being selected by the Giants with the 12th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Beckham proceeded to catch 91 passes for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in his first season. Oh, and he accomplished all that in just 12 games.

The 22-year-old was rewarded with AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and a Pro Bowl selection, and he'll be on the cover of "Madden NFL 16."

Despite all that, the all-world receiver has a gripe. He feels that NFL players aren't paid enough.

"I think that we should make more money, personally," Beckham told The Huffington Post.

It's not about greed, he maintains. Beckham believes that players should be compensated more due to the violent nature of professional football.

"It's not even a full-contact sport," Beckham told the website. "I would call it a full-collision sport. You have people running who can run 20 miles per hour and they're running downhill to hit you, and you're running 18 miles per hour. That's a car wreck."

Beckham also noted that the NFL is the most popular sports league in the United States, yet football players are earning less than NBA and MLB players.

"I understand we have more players," Beckham told The Huffington Post. "But look, there has to be some way to balance that out ... It's just the careers are shorter. There's injuries that you have after you leave the game; brain injuries, whatever it is, nerve injuries.

"And it's just something that I feel, (that) there's no way someone who -- even if they did their three or four years in the league -- should have to worry about money for the rest of their lives."

Beckham signed a four-year, $10.4 million contract with New York after getting drafted last season. His salary will be roughly $893,000 in 2015.

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