Eagles Reset RB Market with Massive Saquon Barkley Extension; Impact for Steelers, Najee Harris?
The Philadelphia Eagles just reset the running back market in a huge way, signing star back Saquon Barkley to a two-year, $41 million contract extension. The deal includes $36 million guaranteed at signing, making Barkley the highest-paid running back in NFL history and the first to average more than $20 million per year on a contact.
Barkley had played just one season of the three-year, $37.75 million deal he signed with the Eagles in 2024. He then went out an became the ninth 2,000-yard rusher in NFL history, led the league in rushing attempts, yards and yards per game and probably would have broken the all-time rushing record if he hadn’t sat out in Week 18.
In the postseason, Barkley rushed for another 499 yards and scored five touchdowns in four games as the Eagles went on to win Super Bowl LIX. Now, he’s being rewarded with a contract that will run through 2028.
The deal with have significant repercussions for the rest of the running back market. The highest-priced running back contract in the NFL entering the 2025 offseason had been a $19 million per year, and that four-year deal had only $24 million guaranteed, compared to the $36 million Barkley just got for two.
Rising prices at the top of the salary range usually have a trickle-up effect on the rest of the market, and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris could be in line for a huge payday.
There are only two bona fide starting running backs set to hit free agency: Harris and Minnesota’s Aaron Jones. Jones is already 30 years old and there is talk the Vikings could try to bring him back and keep him from hitting the market. If that happens, look out.
Any team looking to replicate the impact the Barkley signing had on the Eagles last season would have just one choice in free agency, and that’s Harris.
Pro Football Focus projected that the Steelers stalwart could get a three-year contract at $11.5 million per season earlier this offseason, and now with Barkley bumping the top of the payscale up a notch, that could go even higher.
The Steelers could have had Harris for a one-year, $6.9 million option on his rookie contract, but they declined it last offseason. Now it seems nearly certain that he will cash in at a higher amount.
