The New York Giants signed Saquon Barkley to a one-year deal on Tuesday morning, thus ending his very brief and unsuccessful holdout.
Barkley, as of just a week ago, sounded willing to hold out into training camp and beyond rather than play on the franchise tag. While he technically received a new deal, it's not much of an upgrade over the money he would have made on the tag itself.
The New York Giants will pay Barkley $10.1 million next year — the same number he would have made on the tag. Barkley will receive $2 million of that on a signing bonus, and can earn nearly $1 million in incentives should he hit some statistical benchmarks. Perhaps most telling is the fact that Barkley did not negotiate a no-tag clause for next season, meaning he could find himself in the exact same situation come the 2023-24 offseason.
Per past reports, Barkley was offered a multiyear deal at some point this offseason, to the tune of annual values up to $14 million. The amount of guaranteed money on those offers wasn't revealed, which is likely why they weren't signed in the first place.
Still, by holding out, Barkley didn't earn the extra security he was looking for.
NFL Twitter reacts to Saquon Barkley's deal with the Giants
Barkley had the motivation and support of players around the NFL to sit out further and seek, at the very least, a multiyear deal that guaranteed him some level of security. Instead, he took the quick payday to return to his teammates.
While Barkley did meet with other NFL running backs hoping to increase the standard payday for players at their position across the league, the pressure of missing training camp evidently got to him. Just prior to Day 1 of Giants camp, Barkley is in the building thanks to a masterclass by Joe Schoen.
In the end, Barkley swallowed his pride. If he's able to hit all of the incentives in his contract, Saquon can make upwards of $1 million above the franchise tag. However, it's far from the long-term deal he initially sought.
