How Much Does a Saquon Barkley Franchise Cost?
Suquon Barkley’s most likely outcome before free agency may just be a franchise tag. According to NFL Network’s Ian RappaportThe New York Giants will award Barkley a franchise if they can reach a long-term deal with QB Daniel Jones before the deadline.
Tagging Barkley will cost $10,091,000, per OverTheCap. It may be the only way for the Giants to keep Barkley this season after the running back star turned down New York’s initial offer of $12.5 million per season.
The New York Giants could franchise Saquon Barkley
“It was difficult to price him, but they’re working on it,” Rappaport said of the Daniel Jones deal. However, according to Pat Leonard of the Daily News, Jones’ new representatives are seeking a deal worth more than $45 million annually. This would complicate matters and force the Giants to tag Jones in place of Barkley to preserve exclusive negotiating rights with the franchise’s quarterback.
If the Giants tag Jones, they can’t put the tag on Barkley. New York must choose one or the other to award the franchise a tag if they can’t agree to long-term extensions with any of their free agents before Tuesday’s deadline for using the tag.
Barkley and Big Blue conducted negotiations, and the general manager was Joe Schoen.Cautiously optimisticthat the Giants would be able to re-sign both Saccone and Daniel Jones. However, Schoen also admitted that there were a “far” number of negotiations with Barkley.
Undoubtedly, the franchise’s tag value for 2023 is well below what Saquon Barkley is looking for on average annually from his contract extension. The franchise tag is also a fully guaranteed one-year contract, which means the Giants will have to eat the hit $10 million cap without much wiggle room. If they reach an extension agreement with Barkley, New York could reload the contract and take a cut in 2023.
The New York Giants intend to extend Saquon Barkley’s contract this offseason. However, difficulties negotiating a new deal with Daniel Jones could force them to put the tag on their star running back. The deadline for using the franchise tag is Tuesday, so a decision will come out soon.
