New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley realizes his leverage with the New York Giants in their contract stalemate is limited. The only thing he can do is sit out the season and try to force the team’s hand. That’s something he admitted he considered when he was a recent guest on the “Money Matters” podcast.
Since the Giants and Barkley have failed to agree on a long-term contract, the two-time Pro Bowler can either sign the franchise tender at a little over $10 million and play the season. Or he can hold out and if/when the team struggles, he’d be in a more advantageous situation proving his value.
Barkley’s Leverage
But it’s a dangerous game of chicken he’s playing.
“My leverage is I could say, ‘F— you’ to the Giants, I could say, ‘F— you to my teammates,” Barkley said on the podcast. “And be like, ‘You want me to show you my worth? You want me to show you how valuable I am to the team? I won’t show up. I won’t play a down.’ And that’s a play I could use.
“Anybody [who] knows me, knows that’s not something I want to do. Is it something that’s crossed my mind? I never thought I would ever do that, but now I’m at a point where I’m like, ‘Jesus, I might have to take it to this level.’ Am I prepared to take it to this level? I don’t know.”
The Risk Of Holding Out
If the team performs poorly, particularly in the running game. and it costs them games, that would be a big plus for Barkley. But he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to actively want his teammates to fail. But that’s the position RBs in this league face, in a position that is not valued as highly as it once was.
The flip side is, some player trying to make it in the league at RB balls out and the team does well. Then Barkley has zero leverage and he forfeits a season without getting paid.
According to reports, Barkley will mull the situation over with his family and does not plan to report to training camp. Since he hasn’t signed the franchise tender he can’t be fined unless he misses regular season games.
Barkley has earned roughly $38.6 million from the Giants and has endorsement deals with Nike, Toyota and Pepsi. But he took a certain percentage of his endorsements and invested in bitcoin. The fall of the cryptocurrency market has likely impacted the cash Barkley has on hand.
