New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley publicly said that he is considering sitting out the 2023 season amid contract disputes with the team. Because the Giants and Barkley failed to reach a long-term agreement before the deadline for franchised players Monday, he will have to play for a $10 million franchise tender if he agrees to play this season.
“My leverage is I could say, ‘F— you’ to the Giants, I could say, ‘F— you to my teammates,” Barkley said on the Money Matters podcast, recorded on July 11. “And be like, ‘You want me to show you my worth? You want me to show you how valuable I am to the team? I won’t show up. I won’t play a down.’ And that’s a play I could use.”
Barkley went on to say that he did not wish to harm his teammates or other team members by sitting out the season, but he also reiterated that he was deeply unhappy with current negotiations.
“Anybody [who] knows me, knows that’s not something I want to do,” Barkley said. “Is it something that’s crossed my mind? I never thought I would ever do that, but now I’m at a point where I’m like, ‘Jesus, I might have to take it to this level.’ Am I prepared to take it to this level? I don’t know.”
Barkley’s dissatisfaction with the Giants is emblematic of unrest among running backs across the league this off-season. Several reports suggest that NFL front offices are attempting to scale back salaries for running backs, arguing that players at the position are replaceable and unnecessary for teams to succeed.
Titans star Derrick Henry, one of the last workhorse backs in the league, echoed Barkley’s frustrations in a response to ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller. Miller argued that running backs should not receive multiple franchise tags and that it would be more cost-effective to draft replacements.
“At this point, just take the RB position out the game then,” Henry said on Twitter. “The ones that want to be great & work as hard as they can to give their all to an organization, just seems like it don’t even matter. I’m with every RB that’s fighting to get what they deserve.”
In 2022, Barkley rushed for 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns, leading the Giants to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
