Austin Ekeler is one of the best running backs in the National Football League.
Over the last two years, he leads the position with 177 catches, 1,369 receiving yards and 38 total touchdowns (no other back has more than 26). Also, his 3,195 scrimmage yards ranks third and is just two behind Nick Chubb for second.
Did I mention he’s also been the best fantasy football running back in that time?
Despite this success, Ekeler finds himself in a spot that a lot of runners have fallen into in recent seasons. He wants to be paid what he’s worth, but his team, the Los Angeles Chargers, doesn’t seem interested. That resulted in Ekeler being given permission to seek a trade. It might not be what he wants, but it’s where he’s at.
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“I kinda got punched in the face when the Chargers basically said hey we don’t want to talk about extensions anymore,” Ekeler told me and Amber Theoharis on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio’s Fantasy Dirt show on Tuesday. “I was like, ‘Wow, this is the first time in my career with them that I felt disrespected by my own organization.’”
Ekeler, who turns 28 next month, knows this isn’t about him.
He’s a team captain, a positive presence in the locker room and is loved by his teammates. No, this is more about a league-wide disrespect of running backs that’s grown to the point where many of the league’s top players at the position can’t get paid even close to what they’re worth. Look at Saquon Barkley, who might have to play on the franchise tag for just over $10 million. Come on, that's just insane.
The concern, it seems, is that running backs are more prone to injuries due to their heavy career workloads. But that hasn’t been the case with Ekeler. Outside of missing a few games in 2020, he’s been very durable. He’s also not the same type of back as Ezekiel Elliott or Derrick Henry, who take a beating year after year.
In fact, Ekeler has never had more than 206 carries in a single season. And he’s only had 200-plus carries twice in his career. On the flip side, he’s a dangerous receiver who doesn’t take as much of a beating as other, less versatile backs.
“We [as running backs] know we add so much value to the team, we touch the ball second most to the quarterback, but we don’t get protected like quarterbacks.”
If you’re one of those quarterbacks or a wide receiver, well, let’s back up the Brinks truck even if you’re not stuffing the stat sheets or routinely winning games.
“We’ve got number three receivers that are going to catch four balls a game, have 600 or 700 yards of offense, score four touchdowns and get eight or nine million dollars a year … I got 1,600 [scrimmage] yards, I got 18 touchdowns and I can’t get above $6 million?” -- Ekeler
Based on the data over at Spotrac, 12 quarterbacks have contracts in excess of $100 million. That includes Ryan Tannehill, Jared Goff and Daniel Jones, who’ve won nothing in their careers to this point. Yes, quarterback is a tougher position to fill and thus, the market is much higher (and sort of bananas in many respects).
But Ekeler obviously isn’t looking for that kind of dough.
But when you look at what some of the wide receivers around the NFL are making, well, it has to make running backs like Ekeler cringe. His current deal, which was inked in 2020, was a four-year contract worth a value of $24.5 million.
Right now, a combined 36 different wide receivers have bigger contracts, including Courtland Sutton, Michael Gallup, Allen Lazard and Tim Patrick. They’ve all signed deals in excess of $30 million. No disrespect, but you can’t tell me those receivers are more valuable to their teams than Ekeler has been the Chargers.
Heck, even Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Russell Gage have signed bigger deals than Ekeler. What have they done? Do they bring more value to an offense?
“The fact that there’s such a huge drop-off when it comes to the running back market just doesn’t make any sense,” Ekeler said passionately. “We’ve got number three receivers that are going to catch four balls a game, have 600 or 700 yards of offense, score four touchdowns and get eight or nine million dollars a year … I got 1,600 [scrimmage] yards, I got 18 touchdowns and I can’t get above $6 million [a year]?”
Ekeler’s plight isn’t new, it’s just the latest in the blatant disrespect of his position. He even acknowledged that Miles Sanders, who just reached the Pro Bowl, signed with the Carolina Panthers for $6 million a year, which he calls “so disrespectful.”
With the 2023 NFL draft coming up this month, we’ll hopefully get some clarity on Ekeler’s situation soon. He wants to be a Charger, but he also wants to be paid what he’s worth, even if that means being traded to another team that values him.
“It really doesn’t come down to the logo, it’s really just the commitment to having me in their long-term plans,” he said. “Worst case scenario out of all this, I’ll come back and play for the Chargers and bet on myself and be a free agent next year.”
Considering the sort of numbers Ekeler has put up over the last few years, not to mention his versatility and durability, it’s a shame he and other backs like him are put into this situation. Wherever he lands, he’ll remain a star in the stat sheets.
Hopefully for Ekeler, he’ll also be a much better-paid star.
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on Sports Illustrated and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Click here to read all his articles here on SI Fantasy. You can follow Michael on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for your late-breaking fantasy news and the best analysis in the business to help you win a fantasy championship!
