“I’d have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia.” So, John Mara, how’s that sleep treating you? Good? Great? Umm, I feel the Giants owner hasn’t slept since the day Saquon Barkley slipped through his hands. Watching your best player by far hoisting Lombardi, winning Offensive Player of the Year, all in one year was simply a slap in the face of the Giants. You didn’t want to pay that long-term deal to Barkley, which he thoroughly deserved. So, obviously someone came in and didn’t just offer Barkley a long-term deal, they have now given him a monstrous two-year $41.2M extension to make him the highest paid RB ever.

See Barkley already had $26M guaranteed on his initial 3-year, $37.75M deal. And he also earned quite a few bonuses to cap off a year, which he won’t forget, neither financially nor professionally. Barkley earned $1M for first-team All-Pro selection, $500,000 for eclipsing the 2,000 rushing yard mark, $250,000 for reaching the Pro Bowl, a further $500,000 for winning the NFC title and the Super Bowl. So, he kept on picking incentives after incentives. You know if he kept that run going, Barkley was set to earn upwards of $46M on his original 3-year deal.

Until the Eagles thought he was an exceptional talent who needed to be rewarded exceptionally. And boy, did they give him a deal for the ages. This $41.2M extension will make him at least $20M per year. Never before in the NFL history has this sort of deal been offered to a running back. I mean, can you really blame the Eagles for breaking the bank to keep Barkley in Philly. Coming from the Big Apple, Barkley only averaged 0.98 yards before contact per carry in 2023. But then put him in the NFL’s arguably best offensive line, that horrendous stat suddenly touched 2.64 yards before contact per carry.

So, of course, Barkley had a huge leap after leaving the Big Blues to join the Midnight Green. And don’t forget he also broke the NFL’s single season rushing record of Terrell Davis. Barkley’s 2,504 yards (including the playoffs) left behind Davis’ 2,476 yards record in 1998. Barkley also had the chance to break Eric Dickerson’s regular season rushing record but chose not to. He probably thought, let’s keep one record for another season. With no records to break, only records to make week in and week out, it could have been a bit boring, right?

But moving on, don’t you feel Barkley’s contract does seem like a game-changer for the RBs around the league? Well, actually no. Barkley’s exceptional year still might not be enough to reinvigorate the RB market.

Will Saquon Barkley’s historical year prove to be valiant for his fellow running backs?

Remember the time when Barkley and Josh Jacobs were franchise-tagged for $10.1M respectively. Well, that was the lowest among all offensive and defensive positions in the league. Since those days, Barkley is now set to earn north of $20M per year. And his fellow running backs who were also free agents at one time are earning over $12M per season. Both Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs are averaging $12M in guaranteed money, which is up from $7.1M in 2023, $4.8M in 2022 and $4.5M in 2021. So, there is a clear pattern of growth in running backs’ contracts in the last 3 seasons.

However, one league source apparently told ESPN, “Good players are going to get paid well. But I don’t think the trend is all of a sudden to pay running backs because of Saquon.” Actually, this source wasn’t the only one who painted a bleak picture on the RBs’ future beyond Saquon Barkley. One AFC talent also said the same thing, “It’s going to give pause to folks who maybe haven’t invested in running backs to rethink that. But I’m not sure it’s going to move the needle so much that you see a real sea change across the entire position.”

So, free agent RBs this year like Aaron Jones, Najee Harris and J.K. Dobbins are probably not rated highly enough in the bracket of the Saquons and the Henries. But in the NFL, you just never know who suddenly blasts into the limelight. This year was Barkley’s, and the next year could be Jones, Harris, or anyone. It totally depends upon whether the franchises are willing to take the risk? Well, take a suggestion from the Eagles: take the risk and see how it pays out. Maybe you will also get your Barkley somewhere lurking in the market.