There’s still a bevy of talented tailbacks around the league, but 2023 is arguably the worst time ever to be a star running back.
At least in terms of getting a long-term contract extension.
The latest example of how devalued the position has become is Saquon Barkley. The talented runner didn’t reach a long-term deal with the New York Giants on Monday, which drew a shocked reaction from Jonathan Taylor. But Taylor was far from the only lead tailback to express displeasure at Monday’s news.
As running backs increasingly find it harder and harder to secure long-term contracts, these players are starting to feel the squeeze, and they’re not happy. You can even see it in the contract weeds — the league’s highest-paid running back for the 2023 season (Christian McCaffrey at $16 million) is now only above the highest-paid kicker, fullback, punter, and long snapper. There used to be a time when running back focal points in long-term team building.
But that is not the case anymore.
Derrick Henry, a two-time league-leading rusher, and other difference-making running backs took to Twitter Monday to criticize how NFL teams have devalued their work in the backfield.