Saquon Barkley, Giants remain at contract stalemate: 'I'm (worth) more than that'

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — There are only two ways this standoff between Saquon Barkley and the Giants can end, and neither of them involve him sitting out the season. He may have dangled that card when he spoke to reporters on Sunday night, but it's not a card he's crazy enough to play.

Because while Barkley may be "frustrated" at the situation, angry at what he believes are leaks coming from the Giants front office, and ticked off that he's not getting enough "respect" from the team, he's also not dumb and neither are his agents. He's not going to throw away $10.1 million — the amount that accompanies his unsigned franchise tag — and waste a full season when he's 26 years old and probably in the late prime of his NFL career.

That's why nobody in the Giants organization is worried that Barkley hasn't signed his tag, is skipping minicamp this week or that he vented his frustrations in public. They're OK with him telling the world about his hurt feelings, because they know he'll put it all behind him when it's time.

"When you're dealing with someone who is extremely mature, like Saquon, you can separate the personal and the professional," Giants assistant GM Brandon Brown said on Tuesday afternoon. "And I think when you have honest and open conversations and you take the feelings out of it, you're able to establish common ground. It doesn't mean you're going to agree. But that's what I appreciate about him. He can listen and digest information we're giving him, and he can tell us his feelings as well."

Barkley certainly did just that on Sunday at his youth football camp in Jersey City, N.J. He lamented what he believes are "misleading" reports about negotiations that made him seem "greedy." And he sure sounded like he thought those reports were coming from the Giants' side.

At issue, it seems, are the details of the offers he rejected before the Giants pulled them and used the franchise tag on him in early March. What he rejected, according to a source, was a contract worth between $12 and $13 million per season, which on the surface would seem to make him one of the highest-paid running backs in the league. What has never been reported, though, is how much guaranteed money was in those offers, which is really the only detail that matters.

Barkley wouldn't say how much those guarantees were worth. He just insisted that "I'm not looking to set any contract records" and that "I'm not demanding to be the highest-paid player at my position." He also said he understood that the market for running backs had been depressed with the top three free agents — him, Dallas' Tony Pollard and Las Vegas' Josh Jacobs — getting tagged. The biggest free-agent deal for a running back was the four-year, $25 million contract Miles Sanders got from Carolina. But that only included $13 million guaranteed.

Barkley wants more.

"I feel like I'm (worth) more than that," Barkley said. "I feel like we finally got to the place where we're a successful team and we're winning games and I feel like I was a big part of that."

The Giants agree, but are holding firm to what they believe his financial value is. Multiple team sources have said the Giants are content to let Barkley play out the season on the tag, and that while they're open to negotiating a long-term contract the two sides have always been far apart.

They are also aware Barkley has no leverage. He has until July 17 to negotiate and sign a new contract, otherwise, his only option is to sign his franchise tag. That is unless he wants to do the unthinkable and sit out the entire year.

"Sure," Barkley said on Sunday, "that's a card I could play" if he can't strike a deal and has to plot his "next move" with his agent. But he knows that's not a viable move.  It may have worked for Le'Veon Bell when he sat out the 2018 season rather than play on a second straight franchise tag with the Pittsburgh Steelers that would've paid him $14.5 million. But it was a different financial time for running backs then. Also, Bell found a desperate and irresponsible team in the New York Jets who gave him a four-year, $52.5 million contract with $27 million in guarantees even though they were bidding against themselves.

Barkley, especially with his injury history, isn't likely to find a team like that in a league filled with GMs who don't want to pay running backs anymore. Maybe that's "not fair", as Barkley suggested, but it's still the way it is.

He could also wait to sign the tag — maybe until a few weeks into training camp, or maybe deep into the regular season — but that's just postponing the inevitable. After July 17 there is no other option but the tag for the 2023 season. A lengthy holdout would just tarnish a reputation that has been stellar so far.

That means the most likely resolution is what's been most likely all along. Unless the Giants suddenly and surprisingly increase their offer, Barkley will eventually sign the franchise tag and rejoin the Giants sometime around the start of training camp in late July. No, he won't be happy with his $10.1 million. He'll probably still be angry at the front office because of the way the negotiations went.

But the Giants are counting on him to put all that behind him and be one of their leaders this season. And they remain convinced that's exactly what he will do.

"I think it's one of those things where you look at the foundation of your relationship and our foundation of our relationship with Saquon is one of not just trust, but honesty," Brown said. "It's no different than being in a family. Family is going to disagree at some point, but the one thing that is at the crux of your relationship, there's love there.

"I think Saquon knows how we feel about him, whether it's said openly or behind closed doors. There are things we agree on and things we disagree on, but at the end of the day he knows how we feel about him and that's something that's not going to change."

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.