Most professional athletes prefer to have contracts negotiated during the offseason. Once the games count, their primary focus becomes the task at hand.
We’ve recently seen that with the New York Yankees and Aaron Judge, as well as the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson.
But New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley doesn’t necessarily have those same preferences. In fact, he sounds open to negotiating a new contract during the season should the Giants decide they want him back.
“Right now, probably the way I would handle it is just focus on what I can focus on and let my agent take care of all that,” Barkley told reporters on Friday. “My agent Kim (Miale), I feel like I’ve got one of the best agents, if not the best agent, in the business so I know if I do what I’ve got to do on the football field and God keeps me healthy, she’s going to take care of the rest.”
Barkley is currently in the final year of his rookie deal after the Giants picked up his fifth-year option. He’s on the books for $7,217,000, which is fully guaranteed and also represents his cap hit.
Had Barkley remained healthy over the previous two seasons, it’s likely that the Giants would have already negotiated a new contract. But until the former No. 2 overall pick can prove his ability to stay healthy, the team is understandably cautious.
Barkley recognizes that and his plan of action is to simply do whatever head coach Brian Daboll wants.
“Whatever the team, and whatever Coach Dabs and (Mike Kafka) need me to do, to go out there and execute — whether it’s catching the ball, running, pass pro — whatever they need me to do,” he said. “My biggest thing I want for this week, not only for myself but for the team too, is just continue to fall in love with the process, don’t get too overconcerned with the results. No matter if we win by 40 or we lose by 40 there is going to be some sort of over reaction to this week. Whether I go for 200 yards or say I go for 10 yards. There’s going to be over reaction. I’m just going to continue to have that mindset of staying in the moment, taking it day by day and getting better.”
After a strong summer, there is plenty of optimism surrounding Barkley and a potential bounce-back season. Will it be enough to spark new contract negotiations? Time will tell.
