BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU has acknowledged that Odell Beckham Jr. "may have" given cash to LSU student-athletes on the sideline of the championship game in the Superdome.
LSU Athletics released the statement after star quarterback Joe Burrow said that Beckham was handing out real money to the team following their win during a taping of the "Pardon My Take" podcast.
"I'm not a student-athlete anymore, so I can say yeah," Burrow said when asked about the video of Beckham handing out money.
Initially, an LSU spokesperson said that the money being handed out by the former LSU star was fake and meant as a symbol of the big pay day they'd get when star players were drafted into the NFL. On Wednesday, that changed.
"Initial information suggested bills that were exchanged were novelty bills. Information and footage reviewed since shows apparent cash may have also been given to LSU student-athletes," LSU Athletics said. "We were in contact with the NCAA and the SEC immediately upon learning of this situation in which some of our student-athletes may have been placed in a compromising position. We are working with our student-athletes, the NCAA and the SEC in order to rectify the situation.”
Student athletes are not allowed to profit from their likeness or receive monetary gifts.
When asked about it after the game, Head Coach Ed Orgeron said he hadn't see Beckham handing out money.
"First I'm hearing about it," he said.
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