Odell Beckham Jr reflects on his catch in 2014, Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson and looks ahead to London game

Baltimore Ravens receiver Odell Beckham Jr has described his famous, one-handed touchdown catch that launched him to superstardom in 2014 as both “a blessing and a curse”.

In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, Beckham said that his scoring grab when playing for the New York Giants – the team who drafted him 12th overall that year – changed his life overnight.

Now 30 years old, and on his fourth NFL team after joining the Ravens in the offseason, Beckham spoke of his new-found maturity when dealing with criticism, as well as his “one of a kind” quarterback in Lamar Jackson and his excitement at playing in London this weekend as Baltimore face the Tennessee Titans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“In one instant, it changed my life forever,” Beckham said of his famous catch against the Dallas Cowboys some nine years ago.

“It allowed me to be able to do all the things that I’m capable of doing now and brings in a lot of business deals, money and of those things.

“On the other hand, it took away the bit of privacy that I try to protect so much. You’re already a public figure and then that happens: it was just never the same.

“I wouldn’t trade it, I wouldn’t take it back. It was truly one of the most beautiful things in my life, but I feel like it made my whole career about that one moment. I’m more than just one moment.”

Beckham, a rookie at the time, went on to become the first player to record more than 75 receptions, 1,100 yards, and 10 touchdowns in their debut NFL season. But he admits he struggled to adjust to his sudden celebrity status.

“You can’t prepare somebody for fame,” he added. “No matter how you arrange the principles or morals, you can’t prepare for what a person is going to feel from the fame and all of those things.

“For someone like me, the spotlight is cool, but once it’s off, I’m very chilled and just how I am.”

After a dazzling first three seasons in New York, injury curtailed Beckham’s 2017 season and he was traded to the Cleveland Browns in rather acrimonious fashion after 2018.

He struggled to replicate his success in Cleveland and, though he won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021 after forcing his way out of the Browns mid-season, Beckham suffered a torn ACL in the game itself and was sidelined for all of 2022.

A nine-year veteran of the league and now settled in Baltimore, Beckham says he finds it much easier to deal with his critics.

“I feel like us as humans, everybody wants to be liked,” he said. “But I think once you get hung up on trying to be liked or trying to always please everybody, you’re in a game that you will forever lose.

“I always talk about hand sanitizer killing 99.9 per cent of germs… there’s always going to be a little bit [of criticism], no matter how positive your mindset.

“It’s unfortunate but it’s the business that we’re in. For me, personally, I don’t get caught up in it too much anymore. My biggest advice for people receiving criticism is, ‘if you can’t handle it, don’t read it.'”

OBJ: Jackson ‘worth all the money in the world’

The Ravens are 3-2 going in to Sunday’s clash with the Titans in London – live on Sky Sports NFL from 2.30pm – and with Beckham yet to fully make his mark with the team.

He has just 66 receiving yards from five catches in two starts, with a troublesome ankle sidelining him for the other three games, but he is full of praise for his quarterback Lamar Jackson, who signed a new, five-year, $260m contract with Baltimore in the summer.

“I remember catching myself one time watching him run and then suddenly thinking, ‘oh, I’ve got to go block for him,'” Beckham said. “He’s truly worth all the money in the world. A one of a kind.

“For me, when I was looking at teams, there was just was something very intriguing about the Ravens.

“It hasn’t been the start that I wanted, but the season is long. Anything can happen and it’s just about keeping your head down, staying focused, and trying to get better each and every day.”

Beckham is set to feature this Sunday against Tennessee and hopes to help get the team back to winning ways, on his second visit to London with the NFL after playing at Twickenham in a 17-10 win over the Rams in 2016.

“When I came out the first time we played, everyone was in their own teams’ jersey that they loved but still went to the game. I thought that was pretty cool,” he said.

“It’s come a long way since then. And I think it’s only going to grow and continue to grow and get better.

“I’ve been to a few football (soccer) games before over here and just seeing the fans, the energy, the atmosphere, I always thought if American Football had this, it’d be pretty crazy. So it’s definitely exciting.”

Watch the Baltimore Ravens take on the Tennessee Titans from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium live on Sky Sports NFL on Sunday, with kickoff at 2.30pm. Stream the 2023 NFL season on Sky Sports with NOW.