Josh Jacobs Rumors: Raiders Offered Less Than 2-Year, $22.2M Contract Before Deadline

Reports that the Las Vegas Raiders offered running back Josh Jacobs a two-year, $26 million fully-guaranteed deal before July 17 are inaccurate, according to NBC Sports' Mike Florio.

The deal the Raiders offered Jacobs before the deadline for multi-year contracts was "not even close" to that amount, a source told Florio.

According to Florio, the team did not even offer a deal worth $22.2 million, which would have equaled two years worth of the franchise tag.

The Raiders announced Jacobs' one-year signing Saturday, ending a contract dispute that had kept him from training camp. The one-year contract could be worth up to $12 million with bonuses, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Las Vegas will have the opportunity to franchise tag Jacobs again in 2024 for around $14 million, so he could earn around $26 million over the next two years after all, but that would not be fully guaranteed.

Although the Raiders were apparently not convinced before the deadline to offer Jacobs a fully-guaranteed two-year deal that the running back "surely would have taken," according to Florio, something recently changed to make the team improve their offer.

The Raiders' reworked one-year deal with Jacobs marks the first time in 30 years of franchise tag history that a team has offered a player a one-year contract above the base rate guaranteed under the franchise tag, Florio reported.

Jacobs' franchise-tag base rate was $10.091 million. According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the Raiders offered the running back a base rate $11.8 million, which could climb up to $12 million with incentives. Jacobs accepted, ending his holdout.

After the Raiders declined to pick up Jacobs' fifth-year option last summer, Jacobs responded with an All-Pro season, during which he led the NFL with 1,653 rushing yards for 12 touchdowns. He then refused to sign his franchise-tag deal until the Raiders improved the offer.

The successfully restructured franchise tag deals for Jacobs and New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley has continued an ongoing discussion about how elite running backs are underpaid relative to the top players at other NFL positions. Barkley's deal offered him incentives that could similarly pay him above the franchise tag rate.

This conversation about running back salaries could end up benefitting Jacobs. The league's top rusher will be looking for a multi-year deal in the near future, especially if his recent conflict with the Raiders caused enough tension for him to hit free agency next summer.