The New York Giants and franchise-tagged star running back Saquon Barkley are showing no ill effects in their relationship after Barkley’s contract showdown this offseason.
“Our relationship is good,” general manager Joe Schoen said in an interview with WFAN in New York on Thursday morning.
“The first offer we sent during the bye week, Saquon came up to my office and we had a really good conversation. I said ‘Listen, this is the first time you’re going through this. There is a business side to it…and none of it is personal.’ He understood that throughout the process. He’s been up to my office a couple times since he’s been back. He’s mature, he’s a good teammate, and he really cares about this organization.”
Barkley didn’t really have much leverage after his reps turned down several top-of-the-market offers from the Giants before the bottom fell out of the running back market.
Barkley ended up settling for a sliver over the franchise tag tender of $10.1 million for 2023. The deal was altered to pay $2 million up front in the form of a signing bonus with $910k more to be potentially made on the back end via incentives.
“With the Saquon deal, it was professional the entire time. We just couldn’t come to an agreement on a value, and that’s OK. It’s OK that the has to do what’s best for him. We understand that,” added Schoen.
“I have a lot of confidence in our process and how we come up with our value of players, and they have their process.”
In the end, Barkley just wanted to play football. He understands the business end now but his NFL career clock is ticking. No way he could hold out in his mid-20’s and expect his career path to continue without a hitch upon his return. Ask Le’Veon Bell how that works out.
