Sean McVay reveals real story behind Odell Beckham Jr’s unfortunate ACL injury during Rams’ Super Bowl-winning season

Odell Beckham Jr. played a pivotal role in the Los Angeles Rams winning a Super Bowl ring for the 2021-22 NFL season. He served as a late-season addition that helped elevate them from contenders to champions.

While adding Beckham was extremely valuable for the Rams, it apparently almost didn't happen. According to head coach Sean McVay, a unique injury situation came up with Beckham's ACL when the team analyzed him prior to finalizing a contract.

Sean McVay explained how things went down in pursuing Odell Beckham Jr., during an episode of The Pivot podcast.

“He finally decides he’s going to come to the Rams. Well, you take a physical. After he had done the ACL, if your knee’s feeling good as you’re rehabbing and different things like that, you’re not getting another MRI to look at it to see if it’s stable. Well, part of the physical is the MRI, and so the MRI reveals basically, you don’t have an ACL.

"And so we sit down, our team doctor Neal ElAttrache tells me, ‘Hey, we gotta sit down and let Odell know about this'. We basically said, ‘You don’t have an ACL'. Because it’s like, he’s like, ‘I don’t feel that. That’s so weird'. Because he was so strong with the rehab program, and the muscles, and the support he developed around that leg, whether it’s his quad, his hamstring, and some of those different things."

He added:

"He’s like, ‘Look, we’re going till the wheels fall off'. He sat there and said that. And what is so crazy to me is this guy made a commitment that, ‘Hey, I got an opportunity to be able to go be a part of something special, to have a tremendous influence on it.’”

McVay was clearly impressed by Beckham's motivation, as well as his belief in the Rams. The head coach went on to explain how important the veteran wide receiver was to their overall success that year.

He recorded an impressive seven touchdowns in 12 games as the WR2 behind Cooper Kupp for quarterback Matthew Stafford.

One of those touchdowns was scored during their Super Bowl victory against the Cincinnati Bengals.

McVay also stated that they were planning to continue using Beckham heavily during the game. After getting off to a hot start, he, unfortunately, injured his ACL. While it kept him sidelined for the entire season following, it held up long enough to help the Rams win a ring.

How much did the Rams pay Odell Beckham Jr in their Super Bowl-winning year?

Odell Beckham Jr

The structure of Odell Beckham Jr.'s contract with the Los Angeles Rams was focused on aligning their team goals. His one-year contract signed mid-season was worth just $1.25 million in base salary, but included incentives for victories in the NFL Playoffs.

The Rams agreed to pay Beckham $500,000 for advancing past the Wild Card round, $750,000 for a win in the Divisional Round, and $750,000 for a victory in the Conference Championship game.

They topped it off with a bonus of a million dollars for winning a Super Bowl ring. They achieved all of that, resulting in Odell Beckham Jr. earning a $3 million bonus.