As 2020 season kicks off, Saquon Barkley looks to be in line for a big contract extension with Giants
Saquon Barkley #26 of the New York Giants looks on during the Blue and White scrimmage at MetLife Stadium on August 28, 2020. Credit: Getty Images/Mike Stobe
The next time Saquon Barkley plays in a regular-season opener, he’ll likely be the highest paid running back in NFL history.
Barkley figures to receive an extension at some point between the conclusion of this, his third season in the NFL, and the start of the 2021 season. With many of his contemporaries following that payday pattern, Barkley is now officially next in line for a long-term deal.
He’s not exactly getting shortchanged . As the second overall pick in 2018 he signed a four-year, $31.2 million fully-guaranteed rookie contract. Add to that his contract with Nike that pays him a reported $25 million over four years plus the rest of his endorsements – you may have noticed the glut of Saquon commercials during games this weekend – and income is not an issue for Barkley.
But a new extension might more than double his annual rate.
He was playing against the Steelers on Monday night as a very wealthy young man. When he plays in next year’s regular-season opener, he’s likely to be a ridiculously wealthy young man.
The market for Barkley was further established over this weekend when Alvin Kamara (Saints) and Dalvin Cook (Vikings) each signed contracts. According to reports, Cook signed a five-year extension worth $63 million and Kamara inked a five-year extension worth $75 million. A few weeks ago Joe Mixon singed a four-year, $48 million extension with the Bengals. At the top of the list, though, is Christian McCaffery who signed a four-year, $64 million extension with the Panthers during the offseason.
Barkley, if he continues on his current career trajectory, will almost certainly eclipse McCaffery’s mark of $16 million per season. Depending on how long the Giants and the running back want to make the deal for, it’s not outlandish to picture a package that comes close to making him the first running back to top the nine-figure threshold.
Several factors have to fall into place for that to happen. The pandemic is impacting the business of the NFL, and there are expectations that the salary cap for 2021 will be lower than the one the league is currently operating under. How much it falls could determine just how much Barkley gets paid. This is a team that will also, if things go well, be looking to sign Daniel Jones to a long-term deal on the heels of any Barkley contract. It will also want to figure out how to keep Evan Engram and Jabrill Peppers and Dalvin Tomlinson.
Keeping all of them under a salary cap that is contracting could become an issue.
"We have to make decisions on them,’’ general manager Dave Gettleman said in the spring. "They’re some good, young players. And after another year you guys are going to be banging me about Saquon."
Wrong, Dave. It didn’t take nearly that long.
Another wild card is Barkley’s health. The lifespan of NFL running backs is known to be rather short. That’s why players are so intent on getting that second contract as quickly as possible, which is after their third season. If Barkley is sidelined by injuries in 2020 after missing significant time with a high ankle sprain in 2019, the Giants might decide to pump the brakes on a long-term financial commitment.
The Giants, of course, have options. Barkley is under contract through the 2021 season, and the team has a fifth-year option on him for 2022. They could conceivably use the franchise tag on him for 2023. In other words, Barkley isn’t going anywhere for a while.
Barkley has leverage, too, which could include refusing to participate in offseason activities, training camp, maybe even the start of the 2021 season without a new deal. That sounds very un-Barkley like. It’s hard to imagine him doing anything that rankles the organization in the name of money. When he was a rookie he bristled at the idea of holding out on his first contract, and when Le’Veon Bell sat out a season over his contract issues with the Steelers, Barkley respected Bell’s decision but made it clear it was not something he would consider. But those are things that remain in his arsenal.
Barkley insists he isn’t thinking about such matters, anyway.
"When Christian signed that big contract the first thing that came to my mind was I’m happy for him," he said in the spring. "He deserves it. But for me, I’m a big believer of taking care of the little things first… I feel like if you take care of that the other things take care of themselves in the future."
The debate over whether the Giants should or should not have used a second-round pick on a running back, no matter how exceedingly talented and productive he might be, is still being waged. Get ready for another level to the discussion regarding the value of extending that same player. Everyone will have an opinion. Eventually it will have to be worked out between the employer and the employee.
As Barkley said, it will take care of itself in the future.
But it’s a future that is coming very quickly.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
