Giants' Saquon Barkley Responds to Rumor He's Seeking Contract Worth $16M Per Year

The New York Giants and Saquon Barkley are about $3 million apart per season in contract talks.

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Giants reportedly offered the star running back a deal that would average around $13 million per season before they hit him with the franchise tag. Barkley, however, is seeking a deal worth $16 million per year.

Per that report, the Giants made that initial offer with "the express message from the team that, if the tag were applied to Barkley, the offer would be pulled."

And Florio added the Giants "have not to date been willing to put the $13 million per year offer back on the table for Barkley."

The running back pushed back on that report via his Twitter account:

Coming into the offseason, the main question surrounding the team was whether the Giants would sign quarterback Daniel Jones and franchise tag Barkley or the other way around. The chose the former, inking Jones to a pretty shocking four-year, $160 million deal.

Big money for a player who put up pretty ho-hum passing stats (3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns, five interceptions, 67.2 completion percentage), though he did rush for 708 yards and seven scores.

But quarterbacks get paid in the NFL, while running backs have continued to see their value diminish. And that's where Barkley's hopes at getting $16 million a year are going to be met with resistance.

The 26-year-old had an excellent 2022 season, rushing for 1,312 yards and 10 scores while adding 57 catches for 338 yards. He was the focal point on offense and a huge reason why the team reached the postseason.

But the only running back in the NFL with a contract AAV of $16 million is Christian McCaffrey. And Barkley isn't on the same level as McCaffrey, who has two seasons with 100 or more receptions and one year hitting 1,000 receiving yards.

Barkley has never hit either threshold, and while he's an excellent receiving option out of the backfield, he isn't McCaffrey in that regard. Getting that level of money is a tough sell.

The only other running back in football with an AAV over the $13 million the Giants reportedly offered Barkley is Alvin Kamara ($14 million). After that comes Derrick Henry ($12.5 million AAV), Nick Chubb ($12.2 million AAV) and both Joe Mixon and Aaron Jones ($12 million AAV).