LSU now investigating whether Odell Beckham Jr. gave real cash to players after national championship

Scott Gleeson | USA TODAY

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The LSU athletic department, which at first said the bills Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. handed out to LSU players after the national championship were fake, is now saying it is investigating the situation.

After LSU defeated Clemson, Beckham was captured on camera handing what appeared to be cash to LSU wideouts Justin Jefferson, whose brothers Jordan and Rickey played with Beckham at LSU, and Jontre Kirklin.

"It was a joke," LSU associate athletic director Robert Munson first told reporters Tuesday. "The bills were fake bills."

Munson, however, added later Tuesday that LSU was investigating to see if all the bills were indeed fake and planned to interview both players.

Neither player has declared for the NFL draft and thus remain NCAA athletes. The NCAA prohibits collegiate players from being compensated or receiving impermissible benefits outside of Division I scholarship parameters.

Beckham sent every LSU player a pair of Beats Studio 3 wireless headphones prior to the championship game, but that was cleared by the NCAA. Postseason rules allow for players to receive gifts up to $550 in value for competing in bowl games "from the management of the event or from the participating member institution."

Contributing: Glenn Guilbeau of the Lafayette Daily Advertiser

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