The sad life of an NFL RB

Running Back is a position that has a very rich history as some of the game’s greatest and most breath-taking players played the position. Though RB is a very exciting position for many, it is one of the most neglected positions in the NFL…

Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley, and Austin Ekeler are the latest examples of the rough life of an RB. It seems like no matter how well an RB plays, it is extremely difficult for them to maximize their value. Jacobs lead the league in rushing last year and was arguably the best player on the team. He did all that in a contract year and expected to get paid. That didn’t happen as he was franchise tagged by the Raiders and still doesn’t have a long-term contract. Yes, the league leader in rushing yards and scrimmage yards doesn’t even have a new contract. Instead, the Raiders give Jimmy G a massive $60 million contract.

Saquan Barkley is also suffering from this latest trend. After a couple of injury-riddled seasons, Barkley bounced back in a big way in 2023, as he was selected to the Pro Bowl and led the Giants offense to a playoff berth and win. Instead of giving Barkley a new contract, the Giants paid Daniel Jones $160 million instead. I’ll tell you one thing, Jones wouldn’t have gotten paid without Barkley. The Giants franchise tagged the star RB, and he still doesn’t have a long-term contract.

Austin Ekeler has been a TD machine for the Chargers for years now and has yet to get paid. Earlier in the off-season, Ekeler asked the Chargers for an extension, and the team wasn’t on the same page as Austin. So, Ekeler explored the trade market to see if another team would be willing to pay him what he wanted. Little did he know, no team wanted to trade for Ekeler and give him an extension. After years and years of hard work, from undrafted to star, Austin Ekeler still can’t receive the paycheck he deserves.

UPDATE (September 19th): It’s been a couple of months since I’ve uploaded this article, but the recent Chubb injury is just another example of how sad an NFL RBs life is. Nick Chubb has given everything to his frnchise, consistency, hard work, dedication, and he gets little in return. The former Bulldog is highly underpaid for what he brings to the table, and now with his injury, he likely won’t be the same again. It’s just sad and unfortuante!!

Long story short, NFL Running Backs do a lot for their teams, and get very little in return…..