July 25 update: Barkley has agreed to a one-year $10.1 million deal with $1 million in incentives and is reporting to training camp.
The news of the New York Giants and running back Saquon Barkley failing to come to an agreement on a new long-term contract has dominated NFL headlines for the entire week. The two-time Pro Bowler himself suggested on the Money Matters Podcast that he could very well sit out the entire 2023 season if that’s what it takes for him to show his worth.
Barkley is entering the final year of his contract and is reportedly seeking a long-term deal worth more than $22 million in guarantees. Instead, the Giants placed him on a franchise tag worth $10.1 million in March and the running back didn’t sign. The two sides had until Monday’s franchise tag deadline to work out a long-term agreement and with that passing, they are prohibited from negotiating a new deal until after the conclusion of the 2023 campaign.
Now at this impasse, there’s a chance that one of the most dynamic playmakers in all of football could opt to not suit up at all this fall. We’ll see take a look at what that means for all parties involved.
Saquon Barkley
With no chance to achieve his sought after money for this season, Barkley stated clearly on the Money Matters Podcast that he could make a statement by not signing the tag and sitting out training camp and beyond. He cannot be fined if he skips training camp, but he’ll lose money by forfeiting game checks if he misses regular season games. That’s why typically players will hold out until the last week of training camp before relenting and signing the tag in time for the regular season.
If Barkley does sign the franchise tag, he could theoretically prove his worth to the Giants by putting up career numbers this fall and convincing the Giants to come to an agreement on his terms. There’s also the risk that he plays well and the organization still stiffs him by placing the franchise tag on him next season. It’s a tough situation to be in for the veteran back and he’ll have a lot to mull over the next few weeks.
New York Giants
The Giants front office held firm on their end and the running back will not be able to come back to the negotiation table until after the season. If he does suit up this year, it will be on their terms with the franchise tag that they offered way back in March.
However, there are negative consequences from an on-field standpoint for the G-Men. Without Barkley, the team will have to rely on backups like Matt Breida or Eric Gray to handle the carries for the offense and none of them come close to matching the production of Barkley. The potential absence of the Pro Bowl tailback negatively impacts their chances of returning to the postseason and that puts more pressure on other offensive playmakers like Daniel Jones to perform.
And even if Barkley does come back to play on the franchise tag this year, the relationship could be so strained they may outright lose him in unrestricted free agency next year. They could replace him with a younger, cheaper option, but Saquon Barkley’s don’t just come by every day and the quality of their run game would go down for the next few seasons.
NFL
Barkley isn’t the only star running back in this predicament as the Las Vegas Raiders failed to come to a long-term agreement with reigning NFL rushing champion Josh Jacobs. Both the Giants and Raiders are content with riding this out, but two running backs of their caliber deciding to skip out on the year would send a jolt through the entire league.
The position has been tremendously devalued over the last 15 years and teams are content with simply franchise tagging their star ball-carriers before letting them walk, replacing them with a younger back to repeat the cycle. But as mentioned before, the absence of these elite playmakers could dramatically impact their chances at winning and if more elite tailbacks decide to sit out, the bigger the problem this could become. Barkley and Jacobs’ situation could be just the tip of the iceberg for a coming crisis.