Odell Beckham Jr. isn’t ready to retire.
But whenever the 3-time Pro Bowl wide receiver decides to hang ’em up, you won’t be hearing it from Adam Schefter. And you certainly won’t be hearing it from Adam Schelfer either.
On Tuesday, a post from the latter proceeded to go viral, with the parody Adam Schefter X account proclaiming that Beckham has retired following 10 seasons in the NFL. Despite Schefter’s display name being misspelled and the social media handle account including a “1” where the “T” in his last name should be, many (including perhaps this author) were eager to repost the fake news to the tune of more than 3,000 retweets and 1.5 million views as of Wednesday afternoon.
After 10 seasons in the NFL, Odell Beckham Jr. has decided to retire. Beckham Jr. played for the Giants, Browns, Rams, Ravens, and Dolphins. He announced Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/MHOarCpDoR
— Adam Schelfer (@AdamSche1fer) August 12, 2025
The faux post took on such a life of its own that many even reached out to the actual Beckham to congratulate him on calling it quits. Taking to X, the 32-year-old made it clear that he’s “not done yet” before elaborating on the amount of attention the post has received.
“No seriously. Plz stop reading everything on the internet, and stop texting me happy retirement b4 u piss me off,” he wrote with a trio of crying emojis. “That will get no response. I promise u the day I’m done I will let u kno. Again if u text me happy retirement im just gon have to block u [two crying emojis]. Thanks.”
No seriously. Plz stop reading everything on the internet, and stop texting me happy retirement b4 u piss me off 😭😭😭. That will get no response. I promise u the day I’m done I will let u kno. Again if u text me happy retirement im just gon have to block u😭😭. Thanks
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) August 12, 2025
The fake post seemingly hit a nerve for Beckham, which is certainly understandable for a player who feels like he still has something left in the tank. It’s worth noting, however, that one of the reasons why the post likely gained so much traction is because the idea of the former LSU star retiring is certainly believable considering that he has remained unsigned since his unceremonious exit from the Miami Dolphins midway through the 2024 season and general lack of production since suffering a torn ACL in Super Bowl LVI in 2022.
While many have understandably taken issue with fake accounts posing as sports insiders spreading misinformation, others such as Kevin Durant have praised them as a litmus test of media literacy. If that’s the case, then the author of this article certainly has some explaining to do and would like to once again reiterate that the fake news seemed totally believable at first glance.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.