New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley insists he’s not focusing on his next contract, but when the football world saw Christian McCaffrey sign a four-year, $64 million extension with the Carolina Panthers, they knew it would be the baseline when Barkley’s time came.
“I always feel like I’ve got something to prove. That’s always been my mindset. Always going to try to be the best player and person that I can be, not only for myself but for my team,” Barkley told reporters in May. “For me, I’m a big believer of taking care of the little things first. That’s right now coming into the meetings and try to be the best leader, the best player I can from this, I don’t know what size of a box you would call it. I feel like if you take care of that the other things take care of themselves in the future.
“[But] when Christian signed that big contract the first thing that came to my mind was I’m happy for him.”
Barkley may have been happy for McCaffrey, but he had to know in the back of his mind that he could eclipse that contract if he remains healthy.
Assuming Barkley manages to stay on the field here in 2020, what sort of numbers will he and the Giants be looking at? That was a question posed to Dan Duggan of The Athletic last week, and the numbers he settled on were substantial.
“I don’t think the Giants can escape a monster contract unless Barkley has a poor year,” [Over the Cap’s Jason] Fitzgerald said. “Christian McCaffrey getting a monster contract with Carolina pretty much sets the stage that Barkley will be the highest-paid running back.”
Projected contract: 4 years, $70 million
A four-year, $70 million deal would not only make Barkley the richest running back in the NFL, it would make him the highest-paid running back in league history.
If Barkley is capable of staying healthy, he’s clearly worth that that level of investment. However, as we saw in 2019 when he missed time due a high ankle sprain, that’s sometimes easier said than done. And with the shelf life of a running back so short, $70 million over four years carries a significant amount of risk.
