2023 NFL Season: Saquon Barkley signs silly deal with Giants

Saquon Barkley’s new contract with the New York Giants that was agreed to on Tuesday is absolutely ridiculous and proves how out-of-touch RBs are.  Saquon Barkley and his agency played themselves here.  The running back was not able to agree to a long-term extension with the New York Giants, which prompted him to be a bit vocal with his frustration.

With Josh Jacobs also not getting a long-term deal, there was a recent riot among running backs in the NFL about them apparently not being treated fairly.  Besides them being totally wrong, Barkley’s new deal with the Giants, that was reported on Tuesday, proves how silly this entire situation is.

The biggest kicker here for me is this excerpt from Mike Florio:

"Per a league source with knowledge of the situation, the Giants extended an offer to Barkley worth $13 million per year, including $26 million over the first two years. The offer was made before the deadline for applying the franchise tag, with the express message from the team that, if the tag were applied to Barkley, the offer would be pulled. Barkley was looking for Christian McCaffrey money, we’re told; that’s roughly $16 million per year."

If this is true, Barkley likely missed out on a multi-year deal that would have significantly exceeded the new deal he signed on Tuesday.  This deal that was apparently worth $13 million per year was likely three or four years in length.  The report also states that Barkley wanted $16 million per year, which is what Christian McCaffrey got.

Now, Barkley has to settle for a one-year deal that is barely worth more than the franchise tag itself, which proves how silly this entire situation is.  These running backs appear to be so stubborn and believe they are worth more than they actually are.

Simply put, teams do not need an elite running back to win Super Bowls in today’s NFL.  The last time a team had an elite RB and won the Super Bowl was the Seattle Seahawks back in 2013, which is now a whole decade ago.

Here’s some information from Adam Schefter that outlines Barkley’s deal:

It’s an OK deal for Barkley, but nothing close to what the New York Giants had apparently offered.  Now, Barkley has to hope he stays healthy and produces in 2023.  He’ll be another year older when the 2024 NFL offseason rolls around and will have that much less time to cash in wit ha multi-year deal.

Furthermore, this deal apparently still gives the Giants the ability to place the franchise tag on him again.  I’m not sure what Saquon Barkley and his agent were doing, but this contract is just silly.