Giants starter fails miserably after going to bat for Saquon Barkley
The New York Giants and Saquon Barkley have one of those "it's complicated" relationships at this time. A recent report from the New York Post reveals the Giants' best offer to the star running back includes just $19.5 million in guaranteed money, which would be way lower than what we've seen from recent contracts given to […]
The New York Giants and Saquon Barkley have one of those "it's complicated" relationships at this time.
A recent report from the New York Post reveals the Giants' best offer to the star running back includes just $19.5 million in guaranteed money, which would be way lower than what we've seen from recent contracts given to the top running backs in the NFL.
But the current contractual frictions between franchise and player aren't just about them two but rather the current state of the entire running back market in the NFL. Hence the recent back and forth between SNY reporter Connor Hughes and Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton on Twitter.
Following the news out of Cincinnati on RB Joe Mixon taking a significant pay cut with the Bengals, Hughes asked on social media "Why should the Giants pay a boatload to Saquon Barkley when 31 other teams have realized no running back should be paid a boatload?"
To which Slayton responded the following:
While I will always appreciate a good real-life analogy, Slayton seemed wildly off-mark here. And the reason was pointed out immediately in a reply by Hughes.
"There's no salary cap in love," responded the reporter.
And hey, in all seriousness, Hughes has a point. Sure, the salary cap is highly manipulable and the Giants could make the books work for a Saquon Barkley extension if they absolutely wanted to.
And yet, the market rules it all. Why would they pay Barkley buckets of money when he's not likely to get that as a free agent either? I'm not even saying it's fair because it's not. The position running backs are in today sucks.
Right now, Dalvin Cook remains a free agent. Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard, and Barkley himself are all about to be paid $10.09 through the franchise tag. All of them, including Barkley, were ranked in the league's Top 10 running backs by NFL execs, coaches, and scouts.
Seven out of the top 10 running backs in that ranking aren't signed beyond the 2023 season!
In other words, highly important NFL personnel agree across the board that these are the best guys at their jobs. And in spite of that, data has revealed that the way to optimize resources to build a winning team in today's league means not paying that much money for a running back. And they've caught up to that, as unfair as it might be to the players themselves.
So while Barkley is one of the best running backs in the game, this conversation is much more complicated than not wanting to buy a wedding ring for your wife.
By the way, um, married gents… you should 100% buy one. Come on.
Featured image via Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
