For full disclosure, I am writing this article during the third quarter of the prime time New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys game on 10 September 2023. At the end of the third quarter, the score is 33–0 in favor of the Cowboys. Daniel Jones, the newly minted $160 million Giants quarterback is on the verge of facing permanent injury due to the combination of a dominant Cowboy pass rush and an overrun Giants offensive line. What spurred my interest in writing this piece was announcer Cris Collinsworth commenting on Giants running back Saquon Barkley’s contract negotiations this summer.
The running back position has been newsworthy the entire offseason. Star running backs have become increasingly vocal regarding what has been perceived as inadequate compensation for their performance. In this regard, we should all have tremendous levels of empathy. American football has been correctly characterized as two large and athletic men crashing hard into one another, mirroring a car crash every collision. The running back is the primary position player being forced to absorb the equivalent of twenty or more car crashes every game. The determination and pain tolerance a running back must have to play professional football is something us ordinary folk cannot comprehend. Unfortunately, a discussion of fair financial compensation renders a less empathetic reaction from sports fans.
The National Football League (NFL) operates in a hard cap league. This means that all NFL teams have an equal salary allotment for players that cannot be circumvented by an owner paying a punitive fee to go beyond the salary cap. As the NFL game has evolved, the rules have begun to heavily favour throwing the ball. Therefore, the NFL has seen an explosion in salary cap allotment to the quarterback and wide receiver positions. A mediocre quarterback like Jones can command forty million dollars per season, despite the fact he has never had anything close to a decent season without a healthy Barkley, who during this summer was unable to come to an agreement with the Giants regarding a contract extension. Barkley makes eleven million dollars, while the highest paid running back in the NFL makes sixteen million dollars. It is clear that the running back is unable to get their fair value.
However, the question for the front office is whether an NFL team should pay what a star running back demands. In a hard cap league, combined with the rules favouring the quarterback and wide receivers, is there enough money to go around? The beauty of the NFL is how teams are considered units, where the success of the unit depends on the contributions of all players. This is in direct contrast with basketball where an overwhelmingly great player such as Lebron James or Michael Jordan could carry a team to success. If the offensive line cannot protect a quarterback, the wide receivers will not get targets, the running back cannot penetrate into the backfield, and the quarterback will face pressure due to defenders being in the backfield. Furthermore, if the defence cannot stop an opposing offence, the likelihood of winning falls dramatically.
Therefore, in a hard cap league, who takes the hit for the running back? The running back depends on the offensive line to create spaces to run through. Would it be fair to force the offensive linemen to take less than their value in order for the running back to receiving fair compensation? A running back needs a competent quarterback to ensure a defence considers the possibility of a pass play. If a defence can just focus on either passing or rushing, the lack of offensive balance makes it hard for the quarterback and running back to succeed. One might suggest that the quarterback take less for the running back. However, remember that the rules are increasingly favouring quarterbacks. Therefore, many teams feel the quarterback is de facto the most important position on the team.
I really do feel for running backs like Barkley who have taken unimaginable levels of punishment. However, as I watch the Cowboys lead 40–0 and sacking Jones for a seventh time, I cannot help but think how impossible it would be for the running back to earn fair compensation. This is even more obvious when individual success in football is dependent on the success of teammates. The eighth sack was just offside.