The Giants have signed Saquon Barkley to a modified one-year franchise tag deal.
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00:00 The New York Giants and running back Saquon Barkley contract crisis is over. Yes, in a
00:06 surprising move, the Giants and their running back Saquon Barkley agreed to a one-year deal
00:14 that will pay Barkley just a little beyond the 10.1 million franchise tag amount.
00:19 According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the new deal includes both the 10.1 million
00:26 franchise tag amount, which is fully guaranteed and includes a 2 million upfront signing bonus
00:32 and up to $1 million of incentives to be split over rushing yards, touchdowns, and receptions.
00:38 Now let's break down the incentives a little bit more. The rushing yard total
00:43 incentive is likely to be earned. The benchmark is 1300 rushing yards. Last season, Barkley had
00:52 1312 rushing yards between the regular season and the postseason. So that is a likely to be
00:58 earned incentive that will hit this year's cap. The touchdown total and receptions are not likely
01:04 to be earned. The totals, the numbers being 11 touchdowns and 65 receptions. So last year,
01:11 Barkley had 10 touchdowns and 57 receptions. All of this of course can go through to the playoffs.
01:17 So it's tied into the playoffs. It's not just based on the regular season. So Barkley has a
01:22 little extra time to reach those two incentives. If he hits those two not likely to be earned
01:28 incentives, they will count against the 2024 cap. They will not count against the 2023 cap.
01:34 Now, perhaps the most important concession in this contract is that the Giants did not include a
01:42 promise to Barkley to use the franchise tag on him again in 2024. Such a move would not have made
01:49 sense for the Giants who still want to see what they have in training camp at the running back
01:53 position. And also to make sure that, you know, if Barkley goes out and he balls out like he did
02:00 last year, Barkley, you know, they're going to use the franchise tag on him again, if need be.
02:05 So no such promise was made this according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. And the bottom line is that
02:12 a he will be reporting to training camp. Matter of fact, he's already reported
02:17 on the reporting date, which is today. And that will avoid a summer long controversy,
02:26 a summer long distraction of questions being asked about Barkley, his absence, what it means to the
02:31 team, and what it means to the coaches and all that stuff. So that's key number one. Key number
02:38 two is Barkley now has a deal that pays him a little bit more than the franchise tag. It's an
02:43 opportunity for him to gamble on himself. It's also an opportunity for him to get himself into
02:49 football shape for the New York Giants week one regular season opener at home against Dallas. So
02:55 really a win win situation for everybody. And you know, you might say, well, how's it a win
03:00 situation for Barkley because he didn't get the long term deal he was looking for.
03:04 The bottom line is that running back the running back market has decreased over the years. So for
03:13 Barkley to have gotten that deal that he was looking for at the amount that he was reportedly
03:18 looking for, which was upwards of, you know, 14 million plus, just wasn't going to happen. So
03:24 Barkley does get a little bit more the 11 million representing the last APY that the Giants had on
03:30 the table prior to the July 17 deadline. So that's resolved there. And Barkley, like I said, he'll
03:36 have an opportunity to gamble on himself, show that he's still very much in his prime. And the
03:42 Giants they'll reward him if he does. And if he doesn't, then so be it. So overall, a happy ending
03:49 to the Saquon Barkley situation, because look, avoiding the training camp, sitting out complaining,
03:56 having all these coalitions with running backs, it just wasn't going to change the fact that
04:01 running backs just don't get paid for whatever the reason. Now Barkley has a chance to smash
04:07 that by controlling his own narrative in showing up, playing like Saquon Barkley can only play,
04:14 and to sweeten the pot further, earning endorsement deals that might come about
04:19 from his playing at a high level.
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