Saquon Barkley has his agents to blame and not the Giants
In a perfect world, the NY Giants would have been able to get deals done with Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley this offseason. General manager Joe Schoen was able to lock things down with Danny Dimes, giving him a four-year, $160 million contract. As for Saquon? He’s been hit with the non-exclusive franchise tag.
On Monday, plenty of eyebrows were raised when Schoen revealed that there’s currently no long-term deal on the table for Barkley. At first thought, we assumed No. 26 would have been furious with the NY front office. However, after thinking about things, his agents are the ones who Barkley should have his beef with.
John Mara wants Saquon Barkley to be a Giant for life. He told them that again recently.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) March 27, 2023
But ...
Negotiations have been reset and the offer that existed prior to the franchise tag is no longer on the table. (@dangrazianoESPN)https://t.co/OfqEDFuATq
Saquon Barkley’s agents were greedy and it has cost him millions
Keep in mind that the Giants put a multi-year offer on the table back during the 2022 bye week, which was reportedly around $12 million per campaign. Barkley’s reps basically told the Giants thanks, but no thanks. They were looking to get more money, but the RB market didn’t turn out to be as strong as they were hoping for.
Schoen and Co. were still trying to get something over the line ahead of the franchise tag deadline, but nothing was finalized. Schoen said at the NFL Combine that there were some good conversations, but that there was still a gap.
With New York happy to have Barkley play on the tag in 2023, the Pro Bowl RB will make $10.1 million next season. However, there’s plenty of worry that Barkley could potentially be a camp holdout until he gets the kind of dough he thinks he deserves.
No one wants to see that happen. With the Giants investing elsewhere this offseason, no big-money contract looks like it’s in the cards for Barkley. This is probably making him quite angry right now, but it shouldn’t be Schoen he’s upset with. It’s got to be his reps.
