Odell Beckham Jr. caused some issues for the LSU football team when he handed out money to players on the field after the national championship game on Monday night, but school officials originally said there was nothing to worry about because the money was fake. Joe Burrow is not exactly corroborating that claim.
In an appearance on the “Pardon My Take” podcast that aired Wednesday morning, Burrow was asked about Beckham handing out wads of cash to players. While the Heisman Trophy winner was not one of the players shown on video, Burrow says he did get some money from Beckham. And it was real.
“Umm, yeah. I’m not a student-athlete anymore, so I can say yeah,” Burrow said when asked if OBJ gave him cash, per Brian Fonseca of NJ.com.
Podcast host Big Cat then said he thought it would have been awesome if Beckham printed fake money to hand out “just as a flex.” Burrow said he was unsure of how much money Beckham gave out.
Players are not permitted to accept monetary gifts, so that would be a violation of NCAA rules. However, Burrow is declaring for the NFL Draft and the two players Beckham was shown handing money to may do the same. Burrow has also graduated and has two degrees, so there’s no reason he should have turned down the money.
LSU associate athletic director Robert Munson initially said on Tuesday that Beckham was handing out fake money as a “joke,” but he later added that the school is investigating to see if players took money.
Whether the money was real or fake, LSU has to be irritated with Beckham for creating an awkward situation.
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