NFL Exec 'Surprised' Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, More RBs Got Paid on New Contracts

The 2024 offseason was good for free-agent running backs.

Saquon Barkley signed a three-year, $37.7 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. Josh Jacobs landed a four-year, $48 million deal with the Green Bay Packers. Both of those deals landed in the top six at the position in average annual salary, per Spotrac, while Joe Mixon (AAV of $8.5 million with the Houston Texans), Derrick Henry ($8 million AAV, Baltimore Ravens) D'Andre Swift ($8 million AAV, Chicago Bears) and Tony Pollard ($7.2 million AAV, Tennessee Titans) rounded out the top 10 with new deals.

"I'm surprised they got paid," an NFL executive told Jeff Howe of The Athletic. "I didn't see anything to alter recent history this offseason."

A few factors likely contributed to this year's overall running-back bonanza in free agency.

A number of those teams (Packers, Texans, Bears, Titans) have starting quarterbacks or soon-to-be starting quarterbacks on rookie contracts, giving them added flexibility. The others, Philadelphia and Baltimore, are both in win-now mode and have quarterbacks who are a threat in the run game, giving their respective backfields another major weapon.

"For select guys like Barkley, it's about adding a piece to win the whole thing," a coach told Howe. "I think it'll go back to being the relatively lowest-paid spot."

The position has been devalued as teams have grown to prefer committee approaches that keeps players fresh and allows them to specialize in various roles. In turn, individual running backs have seen their market value diminish outside of a few game-breaking exceptions (i.e. Christian McCaffrey). And Barkley's AAV of $12.5 million still ranked only fourth overall, an indication that top-end salaries at the position remain in decline.

The 2024 offseason trended in the right direction for running backs, but the position remains arguably the most devalued in the sport.