Can Saquon Barkley Sign With Another Team?

Saquon Barkley will likely not be playing this year as per his recent statement on 'The Money Matters' podcast on July 11.

In a part of the episode, the Penn State player said, "My leverage is I could say, 'f--- you to the Giants, I could say, 'f--- you to my teammates.'"

He further acclaimed his disappointment saying, "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.' And that's a play I could use."

The quotes have surely provided critics with weapons to fire at him but the pro-RB doesn't look like he even cares. Saquon must be sitting out this season.

The running back is taking the fight not just for himself but all the backs out there who are continuously being underpaid and undervalued.

If all the RBs started to take in the fire that Barkly has ignited and stirred inside him, the NFL has to review and revalue the position into the pay range, that would make more sense than what they are getting.

It is true, the current market situation of the League really needs some revolutionary changes in the position and the whirl of which has already commenced.

No, Saquon Barkley is not a free agent this season. The star player could strike the agency if the Giants decided to release him next year.

The 26-year-old is under the franchise tag as the Giants did not make the extension deal with him. As per the rule of the tag, the player cannot reach out to other teams for one year and can't decide on free-agent status.

It is applied so that the team and the tagged player can get a year's time to rethink the contractual extensions and the athlete can negotiate the terms.

Throughout the tagged season, the player should remain under the average value of the franchise tag until they reach an agreement the next season.

In the case of Barkley, he has not signed the tag yet and has shown his intentions to sit out for the entire season which might risk his career. The back said he might have to take it to this level although not wanting to.

The RB has never wanted to go to other teams but was centering himself on bringing the championship to New York. Things have taken a different turn now, his worth in the team is being questioned!

The Giants offered Saquon Barkley the franchise tag worth $10.09 million for the 2023 season in March. It is still cryptic if he would sign the deal.

It was reported that the excellent back turned down an offer that would have paid him $13 million on average with a guaranteed amount of $19.5 million. He was looking for at least $22.5 million in guaranteed money if has to stand under the tag.

The player is sure of a great value to the team and they had no motive to let go of him. That is what the tag was for. But the team is clearly not paying him huge. That makes no sense!

Isn't it like a childish bargain at some local market? Like you really want to take home the juicy apple you like but you refuse to pay the market price.

The scenario is even worse for Barkley here. Getting paid or not, he should stay with the team for a year now or to the extreme, hold the career for the entire season.

Obviously, it might not be possible for the team to give as much as the players demand, but given the value of other positions in the League, at least reach an agreement. Making it look like "We don't want you" is no good for both parties.

Barkley had contributed a lot in taking the Giants to the first playoffs of the Bowl since 2016. He was drafted as No. 2 in the 2018 NFL draft and has been playing exceptionally since then. The star was named offensive rookie of the Year in 2018.

Last season the running back led the team to list themselves in the list of top-five most rushing teams and even had 21 touchdowns. The 1650 Scrimmage Yards last season accounted for 27.7% of the total offense of the Giants.

Saquon Barkley is not staying with the Giants if they can't reach their agreement on expansion after the 2023 season. This year he is compelled to.

After their failure to meet the NFL's deadline regarding the increase of the agreement year, Barkley has been left with major three options that could greatly impact his League career:

• Could appear in the season remaining under the franchise tag that would offer him $10.09 million and make him one of the highest-paid players in his position in terms of guaranteed money.
• Could hope for himself to be traded to a new team for a long-term contract
• Or could let go of his entire season in vain deciding to sit out and not to play.

It is still unclear if the excellent sportsman would sign the non-exclusive franchise tag deal just before the start of the team's training camp on July 25. It is possible that he might sit out during the major part of the camp.

New York Giants Saquon Barkley contract couldn't reach a conclusion this July. The runner was under a 4-year rookie deal with the Giants till 2022.

The agreement was worth $31.2 million fully guaranteed and promised a signing bonus of $20,767,092. In 2019, the salary amount was $1,897,943 which was reduced to $750,000 in 2020 but received a roster bonus of $2,655,886.

For 2021 and 2022 it reached $850,000 and $7,217,000 respectively added with a roster bonus of $3,983,829 in the 2021 season. In his five seasons with the team, he made a base salary total of $11,194,943 and received $38,601,750 total cash including signing and roster bonus.

The contract was to be renewed this season but remained undecided as both of them were unable to reach a point of understanding.

Contract Extension

The contract extension with the Giants didn't go as Barkley had expected. They deliberately failed to sign the memorandum of understanding regarding the RB's year expansion.

Saquon Barkley got tagged with the franchise that is set to give him slightly more than $10 million for the 2023 NFL season. As a result of which the pro athlete has decided to sit out this year.

Although it is still vague whether the rookie of the year player will sign the tag. His recent interview flashed off the back's decision to remain passive given his disappointments with the team.

It is actually a matter of concern why the Giants failed to take in such an exceptionally professional player in the long run. One of the most recent reasons that came out indicates his ACL injury.

But the question is, could an already-healed injury outnumber the wider capabilities of pro players to such a larger extent?

Saquon Barkley is coming back next season if he decides not to participate in the 2023 National Football League.

Barkley has to take some tough decisions this year prior to his disagreement with the Giants. As per the options discussed earlier, the star footballer will be listed an undrafted free agent for 2024 and might make his comeback if signed in by teams.

The aforementioned choice only continue to exist if the New York Giants release Barkley off the table at the current session end. Some also opined the situation will be a financial loss to the team if it decides to go with another tag for 2024 as well.

The running back with no intentions to take part in the game for the franchise with such minimal value would gain the team nothing but disappointments. On the other hand, losing one of the best athletes in the position is for sure a great loss for the squad.

The Giants need to find out how much Daniel Jones can enrich them in terms of the score after a massive $160 million deal as it seems they have to play this season without a pro running back.

Barkley is reportedly expressing his will to retire. The scenario has turned up on him where he could end up gathering one of the worst experiences with his dream team.

New York Giants running backs for 2023 are Matt Breida, Jashaun Corbin, and Eric Gray. Saquon Barkley won't start the offense this season.

Breida was signed by the Giants on March 21, 2022, as a free agent and brings in the experience of seven years in the NFL. Matt made his debut in the League playing for the 49ers in 2017.

Corbin joined the team as a rookie free agent and signed his contract on May 13, 2022. Jashuan played his college football at Florida State University.

Similarly, Gray appended with the New York Giants when they drafted him in the 2023 NFL Draft as the 172 overall pick. The 23-year-old played the position at the University of Oklahoma.

New York Giants Cap space for 2023 amounts to $224,800,000 with $1,521,110 in rollover and $3,299,443 in adjustment. Adjustable all contract cap is $232,634,891.

For the season the Giants have $1,940,000 amount as injured reserve money and $22,741,275 as dead money which totals to the adjusted salary cap space of $257,316,166.

The result coming to a cap on an all-player roster is a negative amount which is $-27,695,613. But the space with the top 51 is $2,794,387.

NFL running backs are upset because they are not getting paid as much as they should be. The backup wide receivers are making more money than RBs.

The League's market situation is burning regarding the plight of RB and now every back who didn't get to extend their contract with their team is seeking answers from NFL.

Running backs are not getting paid to ensure the financial security they deserve. Their franchise tag value is also in decreasing trend since 2015.

Their contract value has shifted from 35% to 26.5% coming to 2022 from 2015. This drop is just in the first round. There are massive 51.1% shift in rounds two to four.

It is interesting how the paradigm shift has occurred in this position over the years. The League that once used to keep up the star running backs on an important note and most of the NFL MVPs were awarded to the role, now makes it look as if there is an RB position in football.

Running backs are most probably devalued because of their decreasing because they have got fewer shelf lives than any other position.

We all know the team in the market works on financial restrictions on spending cash and cap space. Although this is a colder way to put it, but if the data specify that the running backs are replaceable in comparison to other positions, the market will act accordingly.

This off-season three of the exceptional RB failed to hit the long-term deal including Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, and Tony Pollard. And Seven of the Top 10 backs didn't receive the contract beyond 2023.

Running back holdouts by teams in NFL is proof that they are being so careless about the contribution of their role in leading them toward the win.

The franchise owners seem to have disregarded the importance of backs, the emerging hierarchy among positions might have played the role. The quarterbacks lead the list while others come after them.

The average starting running back salary is $1.808 million per season. It is higher than only three positions in the League including fullbacks.

The players in the role are either receiving massive pay reductions or being cut off from the team hitting free agency at such young age in their career. The situation is Pathetic.

Joe Mixon, the back for the Bengals, got his average salary reduced to $6 million from $9.4 million. Similarly, Aaron Jones also had to face pay cuts while Dalvin Cook is still without a team.

Similarly, Jonathan Tyler and Austin Ekeler also stood up for everyone who didn't get a deal for the long term. It is also rumored that the running backs of the League have established a text chain to discuss how to uplift their situation and give justice to their role.

The fact is that a kicker outearns the backs making $2.196 million per season. The only positions that are behind RB are long snappers who make $1.069 million, punters with $1.52 million, and fullbacks who cash in $1.724 million.

Let's look at the Running back salaries 2023: