The NFL is a game of economics, plain and simple.
How a team allocates its resources will most likely indicate how much success it has. The Eagles were ahead of the curve on not paying running backs, and it’s why they’re not in the mess that the Giants find themselves in with Saquon Barkley, who is left to play this season on the franchise tag worth $10.1 million.
Barkley, of course, is not happy about that. He wanted a long-term deal worth much more annually. He has yet to sign the franchise tag, and chances are he’ll hold out at least until the start of the regular season − if not longer, as he hinted on @moneymatterzpod recently:
COUNTDOWN TO CAMP:Eagles’ 9 most important players: At No. 5, do they have a backup plan if this DB shows age?
OF HARPER AND PAINTER:How Andrew Painter’s pending elbow surgery will impact Phillies trade deadline plans
“(I can) 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.
“I might have to take it to this level.”
And here is where the NFL’s economic reality comes into play, and how masterfully Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has managed it.
On the one hand, the franchise tag of $10.1 million for 2023 is a lot of money. On the other hand, in the NFL, it’s a pittance for a running back playing the NFL’s toughest and most dangerous position compared to the tags at other positions. The franchise tag for a wide receiver is nearly double that at $19.7 million. And the tag for a quarterback is $32 million
The Eagles won’t come close to paying that amount, ever.
In fact, they’re paying about $6 million total this season for all four of their running backs in D’Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny, Kenny Gainwell and Boston Scott.
The Eagles wouldn’t even entertain paying Miles Sanders anywhere near that amount. Sanders rushed for 1,269 yards last season, by far his career high, before hitting free agency.
That should’ve led to a huge payday. Instead, Sanders signed a four-year deal worth as much as $26 million with the Carolina Panthers, an average of $6.5 million per season.
Sanders is actually one of the lucky ones. Big-name backs such as Ezekiel Elliott, Dalvin Cook and Leonard Fournette are still looking for teams after all were released by their former teams. They’ll probably have to sign bargain-basement type deals just to get a chance this season.
Barkley is not alone, either. Top running backs like Josh Jacobs, the NFL’s rushing leader last season, and Dallas’ Tony Pollard, were also given the franchise tag.
Teams are starting to think, why spend big money for a running back when the average career for the position lasts about 3-4 years? Especially when a team also has to pay a quarterback.
The Giants, for example, signed quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year contract worth as much as $160 million, for an average annual value of $40 million per season. Combine that with Barkley’s $10.1 million, and they’re on the hook for $50 million in average salary for this season.
The Eagles, meanwhile, recently signed Jalen Hurts to a five-year extension worth as much as $255 million, an average of $51 million per season. But that doesn’t begin until 2024. For this season, Hurts counts $6.2 million against the salary cap. The Eagles are also paying Swift and Penny a combined $3 million. That’s not even $10 million for this season.
Which combination would you rather have?
If the Eagles can get similar production from Swift and Penny as the Giants are getting from Barkley this season, then they will have paid about 30 cents on the dollar compared to what the Giants are paying Barkley.
And that’s very doable.
On paper, Hurts, an MVP finalist last season who led the Eagles to the Super Bowl, is better than Jones. Combined, Swift and Penny rushed for 878 yards last season, but Penny only played in five games. Barkely rushed for 1,312 yards last season.
Needless to say, the rest of that money for the Eagles is spent on the NFL’s top offensive line, a wide receiver corps that includes A.J. Brown and his 1,496 yards last season and DeVonta Smith and his 1,196 yards. Not to mention a deep and talented defensive line.
It’s why the Eagles went to the Super Bowl last season, and very well could go again this season. The Giants, meanwhile, went to the playoffs last season for the first time since 2016.
But there’s still a wide gap between the Giants and the Eagles, as was evident last January in the playoffs when the Eagles won 38-7.
Oh, the Eagles learned this lesson the hard way, back in the spring of 2015. That was when then-coach and general manager Chip Kelly signed not just one big-ticket free agent running back, but two. On that March day, the Eagles signed DeMarco Murray to a five-year contract worth as much as $40 million and Ryan Mathews to a 3-year deal worth as much as $11 million.
That came out to an average annual value of about $12 million for two running backs who combined for 1,241 yards and 12 touchdowns that season. The Eagles went 7-9, and Kelly lost his job with one game remaining. Murray was traded the following spring, while Mathews played one more season before suffering a knee injury.
Since then, the most the Eagles paid a running back in average annual value is the $2.1 million due to Swift this season after trading for him in April. It’s the final year of Swift’s rookie contract.
Last season, the Eagles paid Miles Sanders an average annual value of $1.3 million in the final year of his rookie contract. Sanders rushed for 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns. Sanders gave the Eagles almost the same production as Barkley gave the Giants for about one-tenth of the cost.
The Giants are finally catching up to that reality. Back in 2018, the Giants made Barkley the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, before they had a franchise quarterback in place. Jones was drafted in the first round in 2019.
Jones finally came into his own last season in a contract year, and Barkley had his best season, too, also in a contract year.
So the Giants were stuck. They had to bring both back as they combined for about 90% of the Giants’ total yardage last season. The alternative was letting them both leave and starting over from scratch, again. Good luck with that.
But Barkley is 26, and in the harsh reality for running backs, that’s already the downward slope on his career. Sure, the Giants got it right by not signing him to a long-term contract worth $12-$14 million per season. And if Barkley has another strong season, the Giants can franchise tag him again in 2024.
Not that Barkley will like it, nor should he.
In the meantime, the Giants can draft or sign Barkley’s eventual replacement. The Eagles don’t have that problem. Swift and Penny could be eligible for free agency again next season, along with Scott. The Eagles will find replacements. They always do.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
