Giants Rumors: Saquon Barkley hates the narrative surrounding his name in contract talks
Shockwaves were sent across the country on Sunday night when NY Giants running back Saquon Barkley opened up about his contract talks this offseason. Plain and simple, Barkley isn't sure what will happen before the July 17 deadline.
While Barkley left the door open for him to be a holdout into the season, no one wants to see that happen. However, you could tell that Barkley also isn't happy with the way people have been labeling him as greedy in recent months.
There's been several rumors that have swirled stating that Barkley is looking for $14-15 million a year, and that he turned down a deal worth up to $14 million from the Giants with incentives. Barkley wouldn't go into specifics on the offers he's turned down, but he also wasn't a fan of different stories getting leaked to the press:
"The thing that I'm frustrated most about is that family business is family business. Sources come out and stories get leaked and it didn't come from me."
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) June 12, 2023
- Saquon Barkley pic.twitter.com/FEuFONxBdG
NY Giants running back Saquon Barkley won't be at minicamp this week
If you take a look at Twitter, there's plenty of Giants fans who are frustrated with Barkley, but can you blame him for wanting to get the best deal possible? He knows his worth for this organization. Let's be real here, if Saquon wasn't on the field last season, there's no way Big Blue would have gone 9-7-1.
And yes, there's no way the Giants would have made the postseason for the first time since 2016. Barkley returned to Pro Bowl form, rushing for a career-high 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns. With him placed on the non-exclusive franchise tag and not signing his tender, we won't see the speedster at minicamp this week.
However, if a new deal isn't reached by the July 17 deadline, then a training camp holdout seems like it will be quite likely. Barkley would make $10.1 million if he plays on the tag this year, but he doesn't want that to be how his '23 campaign goes.
Barkley wants a multi-year extension - he wants Joe Schoen to take care of him. Earlier this spring, there was loads of optimism that Schoen and Barkley would finalize the new contract. Now, there's nothing but worry surrouding these talks.