Ahead of Franchise Day deadline, here’s how close Squon Barkley and Josh Jacobs are reportedly to a long-term deal 

Josh Jacobs – Monday was the deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign long-term deals with teams, but none of the three tagged running backs signed multi-year deals. Of the trio, only Tony Pollard has signed a franchise bid, and Pollard is the only one scheduled to report at training camp. Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs are yet to sign, and each is expected to last most of training camp or longer. But apparently, the two All-Pros were at least pretty close to a long-term deal.

For example, according to the New York Post, the most recent three-year offer the Giants made to Barkley paid about $11 million to $11.5 million a year, with total guarantees of $22 million to $23 million. The Post said those numbers were within $1 million to $2 million of what Barkley had proposed.

Meanwhile, Jacobs, apparently nearing a deal, was sitting in the facility’s parking lot with teammate Max Crosby so he could come inside and sign the contract if the deal was done by 4pm. It is said that ET deadline, according to NFL media. No specific numbers like the Berkeley talks, but “we never tried to reshape the market,” Jacobs said in a tweet from Bluewire podcast host Kenny King Jr. I wrote in response.

Barkley and Jacobs, along with Pollard, would get $10.09 million for the 2023 season if they signed a franchise bid. If the label can launch again next year and get a franchise tag, the label’s revenue will be around $12.1 million. That two-year total of about $22.2 million is about the same as the Giants’ alleged offer to Barkley, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Still, the lack of a deal for this star duo (or trio that included Pollard, which was highly unlikely given that he broke his leg in the playoffs) is a testament to how the NFL has taken running backs in recent years.

It shows that you have migrated. And the financial realities of that view have been harshly criticized by the league’s current running backs. Whether that view will change any time soon will be known next offseason when all three of these defenders and Jonathan Taylor will be on the field.