(Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
Some interesting things have happened in the NFL over the past couple of years, with star quarterbacks making more than ever and star running backs getting treated as expendable and not worth a long-term commitment.
The days of long-term lucrative contracts for the elite running backs in the league seem to have finally come to an end, with teams simply unwilling to pay a premium to have the best players coming out of their backfield.
That was never more apparent than this NFL offseason, with three of the league’s best running backs, arguably three of the top-five players at the position, being shut down in contract talks ahead of the deadline for franchise-tagged players on Monday.
Saquon Barkley, Tony Pollard, and Josh Jacobs were all franchise tagged by their teams and eligible for new deals, which each player tried to get, but not one of them could secure their long-term futures.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the running back that signed the biggest deal this offseason was Miles Sanders, who went from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Carolina Panthers for $25 million over four years.
With the franchise tag deadline behind us, barring any extensions for eligible players, the largest total value contract for any RB signed this offseason is Miles Sanders’ 4-year, $25M deal with the Panthers.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) July 17, 2023
That is a long-term deal, but at an average of $6.5 million per season, which is small compared to the franchise tag of a little over $10 million for next season.
Although all these players want to get paid, and justifiably so, it is more about the long-term security at a position that can be brutal in terms of injuries and wear and tear on the body.
Sanders got that security but at a cost.
Even though Sanders is a solid player, he’s not among the elite running backs like Pollard, Jacobs, and Barkley.
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