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Odell Beckham Jr. became known for making one of the most incredible catches in NFL history while with the New York Giants. In 2015, his fame got him into ESPN The Magazine and their yearly The Body Issue. The issue required the athletes to be naked. In 2016, the then-Giants star explained to former UFC champion Ronda Rousey what the experience was like.
Beckham Jr. said:
"What happened was that the clothes that they had weren't going to be good for the shoot, so they just decided to shoot without them. I tried to work out like you [Rousey] to get right. It's hard work. That's real sweat. You see the one on the toe right there that's coming off.
"So it was a lot of fun doing that, a little discomforting, you know, you walk in there and you're really butt-naked. Like, I'm being butt naked in front of all these people right now."
At the time, Odell Beckham Jr. was one of the NFL's top wide receivers in the 2016 season. The former LSU Tigers star had 96 receptions, 1,450 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He finished in the top 10 in receptions while being in the top five for both yards and touchdowns in the league that season.
Odell Beckham Jr. is not the only NFL star to pose for the body issue
Odell Beckham Jr. has not been the only NFL star to grace the cover of ESPN's The Body Issue. Other NFL stars have appeared in The Body Issue for ESPN. For starters, three-time Super Bowl winner Julian Edelman posed for the magazine in 2017.
In 2019, the entire Philadelphia Eagles offensive line decided to pose for The Body Issue. Tackle Lane Johnson, guard Brandon Brooks, center Jason Kelce, guard Isaac Seumalo, and tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai were on the cover.
When asked why he posed for the issue, Johnson said he wanted to change the stereotype of certain body types:
"There's a whole stigma behind the O-line body, but as you can see, some of these guys are pretty well-built, strong guys. I just wanted to put that out there and see how it settles."
Antonio Brown, like Odell Beckham Jr., posed for the magazine in 2016 while he was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
