Saquon Barkley is the Reason Saquon Barkley Didn't Get Paid

Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants failed to agree on a long-term contract before Monday’s 4pm deadline.

Barkley now has a $10.1 franchise tag sitting in front of him he can either sign or hold out and refuse to play for the team.

It is what it is

— Saquon Barkley (@saquon) July 17, 2023

Dang.

Saquon will *only* make 10 million this season. Pray for him and his loved ones in this dire time of need.

Of course, it sucks Barkley couldn’t get a multiple-year offer with more guaranteed money and job security.

With the way the NFL has shifted, running backs come into the league as some of the lowest-paid players and they are physically beaten to dust before they are ever eligible to sign big long-term deals.

The running back problem is on full display this offseason.

Ezekiel Elliot and Dalvin Cook were cut. Austin Ekeler wanted a raise, the Chargers said no and Ekeler demanded a trade. Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard and now Saquon Barkley are signing franchise tags instead of getting the huge contracts they probably deserve.

We are watching screenwriters and actors striking against an unfair Hollywood pay structure that rewards CEOs who do absolutely nothing while pennies trickle down to the people who are actually creating all of this content we’re streaming.

Running backs need to form their own union and refuse their services in order to show NFL teams how vital they are.

But until that happens, I have a hard time feeling bad for Saquon Barkley in this situation.

Of all active NFL running backs, Barkley ranks 4th in career earnings. He’s rushed for over 1,000 yards only 3 times in his NFL career and he’s the 4th highest paid back.

Thanks to playing in New York, Barkley has made millions in endorsements off the field and he’s one of the most famous names in the sport.

It’s also been reported the Giants offered Barkley $22 million guaranteed and Barkley turned it down.

It’s not as is if the Giants used Saquon to make the playoffs last season and then dumped him the first chance they could. The Giants offered him money and Saquon didn’t want that money and now everyone’s crying about Saquon not making enough money.

If you know running backs have their careers shortened by the brutality of the position, causing teams to be weary of extending them long term then maybe you shouldn’t play running back.

Like, this whole situation is being discussed as if it’s some new phenomenon that is exclusively affecting Saquon and the Giants front office is morally bankrupt for not giving Saquon a 10-year billion dollar offer.

Saquon Barkley is lucky to have made as much as he’s already made so far. Dave Gettleman—the worst GM in the history of history—drafted him with the no.2 overall pick which instantly made Barkley one of the highest-paid players in his position without ever rushing for a single yard in the NFL.

The Giants have made the playoffs one time in Barkley’s 5 seasons with the team and that’s mainly due to Daniel Jones stepping his game up to another level. Barkley is great but he doesn’t even really affect the win-loss column.

I hate sitting here and saying guys don’t deserve money. They deserve as much money as they can get. The NFL system is broken and the franchise tag is straight-up bullshit that prevents guys from freely shopping their services across the league and reduces their earning potential by giving teams unreasonably unfair control over players’ livelihoods.

If you want to talk about burning down the salary cap and revolutionizing the entire pay structure for NFL players then let’s go. Turn that shit up. I’m with you.

But when it comes to what specifically happened here with Saquon Barkley then the finger can only be pointed at Saquon or his agent for turning down fair deals for some magical fantasy contract everyone knew wasn’t coming.

If Saquon wanted to make more money playing football, he should’ve learned to play quarterback.

What’s next for Saquon Barkley?

Saquon is not going to sit out the entire year. He’s going to miss training camp because this contract dispute is a great excuse to miss the most annoying point of the season. But he’ll be there Week 1 or else he doesn’t get any of his money.

The Giants could get the best version of Barkley they’ve seen with him taking the whole preseason off and coming into Week 1 100% fresh. Plus, with him only on a 1-year franchise tag, the offense can run him into the ground physically without even thinking about his long-term health because both parties understand it’ll most likely be their final season together.

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