New York Giants rookie No. 2 overall pick Saquon Barkley has not yet played a regular season snap. Despite this, the former Penn State star is getting paid like he’s dominated at an NFL level for the past decade.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that the Giants have signed Barkley to his rookie deal. The details themselves are downright astonishing for a player at his position.
Barkley gets a fully guaranteed four-year, $31.2 million deal. It includes a $20.76 million signing bonus with $15 million paid out immediately and the remainder set to hit Barkley’s bank account in October.
The average annual salary of $7.8 million ranks Barkley fourth among running backs, behind Le’Veon Bell, Devonta Freeman and LeSean McCoy.
As Rapoport notes, the $15 million initial payout is among the highest we’ve seen for a rookie over the past several years.
This is all part of the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, which set into motion a rookie wage scale.
Being the highest-drafted running back since Reggie Bush back in 2006, Barkley’s contract was going to trump the likes of recent top-10 picks Ezekiel Elliott, Todd Gurley and Leonard Fournette. That’s now official.