Update:
Forty minutes before the deadline, Jordan Schultz said the Giants and RB Saquon Barkley‘s camp were still talking but were not close to a long-term deal.
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reports he’s not hearing a lot of optimism from either the Giants or RB Saquon Barkley‘s camp about the possibility of a long-term deal before today’s franchise tag deadline.
Ryan Dunleavy says the two sides will at least talk and try to hammer something together, but it seems at this point as if one side or the other will need to make a major compromise, as the two parties remain in a stalemate.
He adds the Giants have raised their guaranteed offer to around $22 million, but it came with a lower average annual salary than previous offers.
Dunleavy previously reported the Giants’ best offer to Barkley before they used the tag and pulled it off the table included $19.5 million in guaranteed money. Other reports have said it was a multi-year deal worth about $13 million a year overall, so connecting those dots means something like a four-year, $52 million contract with $19.5 million guaranteed.
In this case, $19.5 million would be less than the $22.2 million Barkley could get by playing out both this season and next on the franchise tag, which is how agents often weigh offers.
It would also rank outside the current top five at the position for guaranteed money.
The two parties have until 4 PM EST to negotiate an extension or Barkley will play out the 2023 season under the tag, which will cost $10.09 million fully guaranteed.
Barkley’s camp has recently been threatening a holdout if no extension is in place, one that could impact his availability for Week 1.
Barkley, 26, was the second-overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was entering the fourth year of a four-year, $31.19 million rookie deal with the Giants that included a $20.767 million signing bonus when the Giants picked up his fifth-year option.
Barkley’s fifth-year option cost the Giants $7.22 million fully guaranteed for the 2022 season. He was set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2023 when he was franchised at a sum of $10.09 million fully guaranteed.
In 2022, Barkley appeared in 16 games for the Giants and rushed for 1,312 yards on 295 carries (4.4 YPC) and 10 touchdowns to go along with 57 receptions on 76 targets for 338 yards receiving.
We’ll have more on Barkley as the news is available.
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