The NFL is in a of a standstill when it comes to paying running backs. Sure, Christian McCaffrey is the NFL’s highest-paid rusher, at $16 million per season, but that was a contract signed three years ago. Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley, one of the best RBs in the sport today, is struggling to get an offer north of his current $10 million franchise tag.
Barkley and his agency have been working to get a long-term extension from the Giants all offseason. Previous reports have suggested Barkley actually did get an offer worth roughly $13 million per season, but those rumors have since been debunked by Giants insider Pat Leonard.
But now we’re to the point where Barkley has yet to sign his tag, he’s already skipped the team’s mandatory minicamp, and he’s even threatened to hold out from the team’s training camp later this summer. Obviously the Giants want to avoid any sort of unneeded drama relating to their star players as they try and carry last season’s momentum into the 2023 league year.
Many are calling Barkley’s bluff, with the belief that a 26-year-old athlete who missed nearly a full season due to injury in 2020 would never risk sitting out during the peak of his NFL career. Yet, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has heard otherwise from those in the know.
Appearing on SportsCenter, Fowler revealed Barkley is a “real threat” to holdout from the Giants this summer.
Obviously, the team is much better with their dual-threat tailback, and Barkley knows it. Yet, the Giants also realize the Bronx, New York native doesn’t want to play anywhere else, now that he’s built chemistry and found success with Daniel Jones and Co.
By all appearances, both Barkley and the Giants want to reach common ground in contract negotiations, but the player also doesn’t want to undercut himself when it comes to value. The same goes for the G-Men, who have seen their NFL peers move on from expensive running backs this offseason with the release of Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook, both of whom remain unsigned too.
The truth is the league just doesn’t place a high monetary value on the running back position in today’s NFL. Barkley has found that out the hard way. Which side budges first, Barkley or the Giants, will be one of the major storylines to follow as training camps draw near this summer.
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