New York Giants Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley is still in contract limbo at the moment, having reportedly turned down several offers from the team while also expressing reluctance about playing under the franchise tag.
Barkley’s representatives and Giants general manager Joe Schoen have been working on and off on a contract extension that could pay Barkley anywhere from $12.5 to $14 million per year.
Barkley has reportedly turned down all offers from the Giants which forced them to use the franchise tag (worth $10.1 million for one year) on him in March.
Since then, the two sides have been volleying back and forth but it is believed that they are no closer to a deal.
In a recent interview with Ed Valentine of Big Blue View, CBS Sports salary cap analyst and former NFL agent, Joel Corry, said he was “surprised” the Giants pulled their original offer to Barkley.
“Usually (when) you table discussions, that offer remains. Pulling the offer raised eyebrows to me,” Corry said. “That’s an unusual step. Maybe that’s how Schoen is going to do things in the future, but that would send a message to me if I’m the player that this is going to be a truly tough negotiation.”
Corry also shot down the notion that the Giants will tag Barkley again next year at a cost of roughly $12 million.
“Not getting done. Two [franchise] tags is $22 million. You’ve gotta give the guy a way to save face in a negotiation. You’re not giving him a chance to save face,” he said.
Barkley wants to be compensated among the top backs in the league. The issue is, those numbers aren’t as lucrative as one might think. Only two backs — San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey ($16 million) and New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara ($15 million) — are currently being paid over $12.5 million AAV.
That means Barkley and the Giants can’t be very far apart but it doesn’t seem like a deal is imminent. This could come down to July 17, which is the deadline for a franchise-tagged player to strike a long-term deal.
Until then, Barkley will sit out. And he could miss the mandatory minicamp next month, which would create quite a media stir.
