The current NFL landscape doesn’t favor the running backs of the teams. Players in this position are continuously struggling to keep themselves included in a particular roster for a longer period. The Los Angeles Chargers star Austin Ekeler spearheaded a Zoom meeting with the league’s top RBs about the issue.
The main hindrance for the running backs on their way of getting good pay is their positional scarcity as all other positions possess much more value than players at this position. Besides that, many teams consider signing rookie players at a lower cost than keeping the veterans as many youngsters have been productive like the experienced players on their rookie deals.
Austin Ekeler calls in for a meeting over Zoom
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Ekeler is going to organize the Zoom meeting with big NFL running backs as well as the representatives from the NFL Players Association and they are set “to discuss their depressed market” on Saturday night.
Top running backs will meet by Zoom tonight to discuss their depressed market — and presumably to consider ideas for improving it. https://t.co/smih5VR1xt
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) July 22, 2023
According to Spotrac, the RB is coming into the final year of his $24.5 million contract. Despite recording 1,500-plus scrimmage yards each of the past two seasons as well as earning 38 touchdowns, the Chargers didn’t consider his trade decision and instead, they revised his contract to add $1.75 million in reachable incentives. He might be disappointed with the contract issue and hence, he decided to join hands with others in the league to bring a change.
During an appearance on the “Rich Eisen Show”, the 28-year-old couldn’t halt back sharing the ongoing problems the RBs are facing in the league saying the NFL teams now look forward to not paying these players at all.
“The trend right now is not to pay running backs, so everyone is like ‘OK, we don’t have to do it either then. Whether it’s right, wrong or indifferent, it is what it is.”
RB contract situation boiled over following the Saquon Barkley drama
The RB contract issue got more complex following the aftermath of the contract negotiations of Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs as both of them had been franchise tagged, albeit they were seeking long-time commitments from their respective franchises.
However, Barkley and Jacobs were left with only two options instead of a long-term deal. Now, they can either play the 2023 season under the franchise tag or not play at all. The Giants RB is visibly frustrated with his current condition after coming out of an incredible season and he decided to keep himself out of the field in the upcoming season for it.
“My leverage is I can say ‘f—k you’ to veterans, I can say ‘f—k you’ to my teammates. And it can be like, ‘You want me to show you my worth? Do you want me to show you how valuable I am to the team? I won’t show up. I won’t play down.’ And it’s a play I can use”, he said on the ‘Money Matters’ Podcast.
Only Jamaal Williams, Miles Sanders, and David Montgomery were blessed with contracts longer than two years while the latter two would also average more than $4 million per season from their respective contracts this offseason.
What’s your take on this running back drama? You can share your thoughts with us in the comments.
