GIANTS, BARKLEY AGREE ON NEW ONE-YEAR, $11 MILLION DEAL
The New York Giants and superstar running back Saquon Barkley have come to terms on a new one-year deal, as per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
In order to solve a tense situation that was looming over the franchise and the entire team, the Giants chose to settle with the 2018 second overall pick, giving Barkley improved assurances on a new deal rather than forcing him to play on the $10.1 million franchise tag this year. Barkley was placed on the tag in March and was slated to skip training camp after Monday’s deadline passed without any long-term deals for three of the league’s franchise tagged running backs.
The new contract is a one-year, $11 million deal that sees the former Penn State Nittany Lion earn $10.1 million in fixed money and $909,000 in total incentives. Unlike the franchise tag, the new deal also includes incentive-based money and a much-needed $2 million signing bonus. As per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Barkley will now earn close to a million dollars in incentives if he records 1,300 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns and 65 receptions this season, and the Giants make the playoffs.
Although the new deal isn’t the long-term answer that everyone involved with the deal wanted, it is a short-term solution that made sense to both parties. It not only gives the Giants breathing room but also a big-time boost heading into training camp.
While the agreement comes eight days removed from the July 17th deadline, the new deal is still viable for 2023. As per the 2020 CBA agreement, if a team and player can’t reach an agreement before the mid-July deadline, the only other option is a one-year deal in which both sides can negotiate the one-year franchise tag into a whole new deal. While this type of post-deadline negotiation is extremely rare, it was not lost on the Giants that this was probably the only way to have Barkley happy and back in camp.
New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy reported on Tuesday morning that although the franchise tag deadline had already passed last week, Barkley’s representatives and Giants general manager Joe Schoen never stopped talking. Born in the New York borough, the Bronx in New York City, Barkley has said multiple times that he would like to retire as a New York Giant. The two-time Pro Bowler is reported to have had a keen interest in being at camp this summer and believes the team can do big things this season.
Barkley said on The Money Matters Podcast before the mid-July deadline that holding out instead of being with the team and his teammates on the field is something he did not want to do.
“I could say f— you to the Giants,” said Barkley. “I could say, f— you to my teammates and be like, ‘You want me to show you my worth? You want me to show you how valuable I am to the team? I won’t show up. I won’t play a down.’ That’s a play I can use. Anybody [that] knows me knows that’s not something I want to do.”
As per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, there’s no provision in the new deal that prevents the New York Giants from placing the franchise tag on Barkley again next year. The lack of a “no franchise tag” clause in the new deal means the team can tag the 26-year-old once more, if need be. Barkley will be 27 years old when he hits free agency in March 2024.
With Barkley getting a new short-term deal and Cowboys’ Tony Pollard set to play on the franchise tag this season, this new development now leaves last year’s rushing yards leader Josh Jacobs as the only franchise tagged player currently not at training camp.
According to multiple reports, Jacobs was spotted on Monday boarding a flight leaving Las Vegas and will not be reporting to camp. The Raiders start training camp on Tuesday, July 25th.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.