New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley was unable to come to terms on a contract extension ahead of the deadline earlier this week.
We already know what this means. The Pro Bowler will be forced to play under the $10.09 million franchise tag in 2023, making him vastly underpaid in the grand scheme of things.
Barkley, the former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, has threatened to hold out into training camp and the regular season as he continues to be at odds with the Giants.
The former No. 2 pick and Penn State product just recently went on an expletive-laden rant directed at the Giants during a Money Matters podcast. To say he didn’t hold back would be an understatement.
“My leverage is I could say, ‘F**k you’ to the Giants, I could say, ‘F**k you to my teammates,'” Barkley said. “And be like, ‘You want me to show you my worth? You want me to show you how valuable I am to the team? I won’t show up. I won’t play a down.’ And that’s a play I could use.”
Barkley continued by saying that he “might have to take it to this level.”
There is no other way to go about interpreting this outside of indicating that Barkley is fed up with his contract situation and lack of long-term security.
Related: Are Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs’ failed contracts pursuits death for NFL running backs?
Saquon Barkley and the devaluation of today’s NFL running back
We’ve seen running backs continue to air frustration after Josh Jacobs (Las Vegas Raiders) and Tony Pollard (Dallas Cowboys) joined Barkley in failing to come to term on an extension before this week’s deadline.
That has included the highest-paid back in the league, San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey. Former NFL rushing champion Jonathan Taylor has been among those to chime in, too.
McCaffrey is the highest-paid player at this position, earning $16.02 million. That makes him the 104th highest-paid player in the NFL on a per-year basis. Despite continued success from some of the top backs in the game Barkley included, they just aren’t being valued in today’s NFL.
- Saquon Barkley stats (2022): 295 attempts, 1,312 yards, 4.4 average, 57 receptions, 338 receiving yards, 1,650 total yards, 10 TD
As you can see, Barkley is among the best all-around players at his position in the game. He’s now rightfully airing his frustrations. Whether that leads to a holdout into the regular season remains to be seen.
Related: Highest paid running backs in the NFL