If anyone had problems with this NFL offseason, that would be the league’s running backs. Even the league’s top RBs were not able to sign a lucrative deal like the quarterbacks of the league. Many of the RBs were either released or signed a Franchise tag with their teams.
Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan has devised a theory about it. He thinks the reason behind the devalued running backs is the excessive increase in the salaries of the quarterbacks.
Steelers’ GM sheds light on RBs situation in NFL
Omar Khan, the GM of the Steelers recently talked about the RBs’ situation in the NFL. He pointed out that anyone can easily figure out that RBs cannot get big contracts because the teams focus only on quarterbacks.
“You don’t have to be a mathematician to figure it out, but when quarterbacks’ salaries start increasing at the rate that they’re increasing, at some point, it’s going to have a residual effect somewhere on the roster,” the GM said.
He explained that when a big amount is being spent on the quarterbacks, it will surely affect some other part of the roster which in the current case is the running backs.
“Every franchise is going to handle things differently,” Khan said. “It’s up to every franchise to decide how to build their roster, but eventually, that’s going to have an effect when the quarterback salaries are growing at a rate higher than what the cap is. I get it. There are ways to get around whatever the cap number is, but it’s just going to be a natural effect.”
Steelers GM Omar Khan on RBs not getting paid: 'You don't have to be a mathematician to figure it out' https://t.co/ezrPyQ0UNT
— NFL on Scoreboard Page (@NFLonSP) July 28, 2023
So, the Steelers GM thinks that the quarterbacks are getting more than the salary cap and only this is the reason why the running backs are unable to get a deserved paycheck.
High-profile RBs still looking for NFL clubs
While the quarterbacks secured lucrative contracts this offseason, many running backs were unable to sign a multi-year contract.
Three running backs who signed a Franchise tag with their teams were the Giants’ Saquon Barkley, the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs, and the Cowboys’ Tony Pollard. Even these high-profile players were unable to sign a multi-year contract. On the other hand, many quarterbacks have signed 5 years and 10 years of contracts.
𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗢𝗥:
The #Jets current offer to free agent RB Dalvin Cook is ‘in the range’ of a 2-year $18 million contract with an additional 2 million in incentives.The #Patriots have been in talks with the star RB too but Cook wants to go to a contender.
Cook has been hoping the… pic.twitter.com/ZuVFc9Cgyc
— NFL Notifications (@NFLNotify) July 28, 2023
While the quarterback market is booming, the RB market hasn’t been reset since 2020. The situation is quite bad for the RBs in the league. Now, with the words of the GM, the problem has been highlighted. We hope the league can do something about it so the RBs in the NFL can also get the deserved contracts like the quarterbacks are getting.
