The New York Giants are facing a lot of big decisions this offseason. One of those decisions is what to do with RB Saquon Barkley. At the time of writing, it does not appear that the Giants will place the franchise tag on him.
With that in mind, we can start looking ahead and estimating what Barkley’s next contract is going to look like. Well, one salary cap analyst did just that. Is it too expensive for the Giants? Let’s take a look.
Saquon Barkley Projected to Make Over $36 Million
According to Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus, Barkley’s next contract is estimated to be worth about $36.8 million. He projects this to be over the course of three years and for Barkley to receive over $20 million guaranteed. This would make him the highest-paid running back in the NFL.
Current Running Back Contracts
As of right now, no running back in the NFL makes more than $12 million per year in base salary. San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey has the highest base salary of any NFL running back. However, it is just $11.8 million.
Only four running backs are currently slated to make more than $10 million in base salary. With that said, an important note is there are still several notable running backs who are slated to be free agents. So, expect that total number of running backs making over $10 million to increase.
New York Giants Franchise Tag
Every indication seems to point to the Giants not electing to use the franchise tag on Saquon Barkley. So, will they use the franchise tag at all? Right now, the latest rumor seems to have the Giants using the less common transition tag on CB Xavier McKinney.
Will Saquon Barkley Walk?
Does this mean that the Giants and Barkley will part ways? An important note here is that using the franchise tag on Barkley would cost about $12.1 million. Based on Spielberger’s projected contract for Barkley, this could be cheaper for the Giants than offering a long-term contract.
So, if the Giants view the franchise tag as too expensive for Barkley, it could mean that they are ready to move on from Barkley. New York has limited cap space to work with next season. As a result, this projection could mean that the Giants have to decide if it is better to pay a running back or clear salary cap space.
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