Saquon Barkley – © USA TODAY Sports
Attempts to reach an agreement on a multi-year contract by the New York Giants and free agent running back Saquon Barkley have failed. The deadline for a new deal came and passed on Monday. The team placed a Franchise Tag on Barkley in early March. To date, Barkley has not signed the 1-year, $10.1 million tender and is currently not under contract.
Per Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) rules, the deadline for any team to sign a Franchise player to a multi-year contract was by 4:00PM on July 17th. After that date, Barkley may sign only a one-year contract with the Giants for the 2023 season, and such contract cannot be extended until after the team’s last regular-season game in early January 2024.
Barkley has only two options right now. He can sign his 1-year, $10.1 million contract or hold out. The Giants cannot fine him since he is not under contract. However, every regular-season game he misses will cost him almost $600,000 in base salary he would earn under a signed Franchise tender. But again, there can be no new long-term deal until January 2024. Nevertheless, Barkley is not expected to report with the rest of the veterans to summer training camp on Tuesday, July 25th. (Rookies report today).
“It is what it is,” tweeted Barkley on social media at the deadline.
The New York Post is reporting that the Giants’ final offer was a 3-year contract with an annual value between $11-11.5 million with $22-23 million in guaranteed money. The paper says both sides were within $1-2 million, but could not close the gap.