NFL players are speaking up against the way teams value the running back position in contract talks.
The spotlight was back on running-backs pay after Saquon Barkley, Tony Pollard and Josh Jacobs were not given extensions before Monday's franchise tag deadline. That came after Ezekiel Elliot and Dalvin Cook were released from their contracts earlier this off-season, with both players still available on the free-agent market only weeks before training camps open.
Jacobs led the NFL with 1,653 rushing yards last season while Barkley, Pollard and Cook all rushed for over 1,000 yards.
According to Spotrac, only 10 running backs in the NFL have any guaranteed salary on their contracts beyond the 2023 season.
While the risk for injury exists in all sports, NFL teams seem especially against committing long-term to running backs — who throw their bodies at the biggest defenders in the league every game.
But it's clear the players want that to change. Time will tell if it will.
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