Where Alvin Kamara, Dalvin Cook's New Contracts Rank Among Top NFL RB Deals

NFL teams have spent most of this offseason dispelling the myth that the massive running back contracts are a thing of the past. 

On Saturday, the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings agreed to long-term extensions with Alvin Kamara and Dalvin Cook. 

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Kamara's deal with the Saints includes $75 million in new money over five years and a $15 million signing bonus. Rapoport and Tom Pelissero also reported Cook will receive a five-year extension with over $28 million guaranteed and worth up to $63 million. 

Cook and Kamara join Christian McCaffrey (Carolina Panthers), Joe Mixon (Cincinnati Bengals) and Derrick Henry (Tennessee Titans) as running backs who signed multi-year extensions this offseason. 

Not surprisingly, per Warren Sharp of SharpFootballAnalysis.com, four of those players rank among the top six in total guaranteed money for running backs:

Per Spotrac, McCaffrey leads all running backs in average annual value ($16.02 million). Kamara's extension ties him with Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys for No. 2 on the list ($15 million). Cook's $12.5 million value is tied with Henry for the sixth-highest average. 

Kamara's significant edge in guaranteed money over other running backs makes sense based on how the Saints use him. The 25-year-old has averaged 162 rushing attempts and 81 receptions on 101 targets per season since entering the NFL in 2017. 

The closest comparison for Kamara's value in New Orleans' offense is McCaffrey. The Panthers star shoulders a bigger load in the running game with more than 200 carries in each of the past two seasons; Kamara's career high in rushing attempts is 194 in 2018. 

McCaffrey has averaged 101 receptions on 126 targets in his first three seasons. 

Cook's contract is a significant risk for the Vikings because of his injury history. His 2017 rookie campaign ended after four games because of a torn ACL. He missed four games in 2018 with a hamstring injury. 

A chest injury caused Cook to miss the last two games of the 2019 regular season. The Florida State alum had 1,135 rushing yards, 519 receiving yards and 13 total touchdowns in 14 games. He had 130 total yards and two touchdowns in Minnesota's 26-20 win over the Saints in the NFC Wild Card Round. 

Even factoring in that running backs tend to decline at a faster rate than other skill position players, Kamara and Cook have been such vital parts of the success their respective teams have had over the past three seasons that it's easy to understand why the Saints and Vikings are betting on them to be great for the next five years.