Did you know Alvin Kamara is the NFL’s second-highest paid running back? The New Orleans Saints star is currently playing on a deal averaging $15 million per year. Only San Francisco 49ers dynamo Christian McCaffrey earns more, at more than $16 million. There’s a gulf developing between McCaffrey, Kamara, and their peers around the league, and it’s growing wider by the day.
The NFL running back market has depressed as teams invest more dollars in what they perceive as higher-priority positions, with mediocre quarterbacks and wide receivers carving out larger and larger slices of the pie as the league puts a premium on the passing game. Great running backs are seeing their wages suppressed while duds like 21-31-1 New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones ($40 million per year) and 57-yards-per-game Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson ($18.3 million) are overpaid. So are has-beens like Deshaun Watson ($46 million) and Odell Beckham Jr. ($15 million).
