The hottest topic in the NFL this month has been the state of the running back, as Giants and Raiders running backs Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs both saw long-term contract negotiations with their respective teams fall apart with the season drawing nearer.
Discussions about the position's value in the modern NFL grew so rancorous that Chargers running back Austin Ekeler reportedly called a meeting fueled by indignation among the league’s top backs to discuss the issue.
Wednesday evening, Colts owner Jim Irsay offered a rebuttal to the running backs’ united front, accusing them of “inappropriate” discussion of new negotiations outside of the league’s collective bargaining agreement in a tweet, and implicating agents in the process.
“We have negotiated a CBA, that took years of effort and hard work and compromise in good faith by both sides. To say now that a specific Player category wants another negotiation after the fact, is inappropriate,” Irsay wrote. “Some Agents are selling ‘bad faith.’”
NFL Running Back situation- We have negotiated a CBA,that took years of effort and hard work and compromise in good faith by both sides..to say now that a specific Player category wants another negotiation after the fact,is inappropriate. Some Agents are selling ‘bad faith’..
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) July 26, 2023
Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor's agent, Malki Kawa, offered a vehement response.
“Bad faith is not paying your top offensive player,” Kawa tweeted.
Bad faith is not paying your top offensive player https://t.co/ZYvrLhxygG
— malki kawa (@malkikawa) July 27, 2023
Taylor is entering the final season of his rookie deal, which he signed in the spring of 2020 for $7.8 million over four years.
Since the Colts drafted him 41st overall out of Wisconsin that year, he has amassed two 1,000-yard seasons and is already the 10th-leading rusher in franchise history. Indianapolis opens its 2023 season on Sept. 10 against the Jaguars.
