New Contract Obstructing Potential Austin Ekeler Trade, Despite Interest

According to Jeremy Fowler, there has been trade interest in Chargers RB Austin Ekeler from other teams, but his desire for a new contract has so far been prohibitive. 

After talks between the Chargers and Ekeler stalled out earlier this offseason, the team granted him permission to seek a trade. 

However, it appears other teams are equally as reluctant as the Chargers to meet Ekeler’s asking price. 

The veteran running back has previously said the draft could spark some movement, as a team that misses out on a running back might be more incentivized to work something out with Ekeler. 

He added the “worst-case scenario” would be he plays out the rest of his contract and becomes a free agent in 2024. 

Ekeler is entering the final year of his contract and stands to make a base salary of $6,250,000 for the 2023 season, which is far below the going rate for his production. 

Ekeler, 27, wound up going undrafted out of Western State back in 2017. He played out the final year of his three-year contract and was in line to be a restricted free agent when he agreed to a four-year, $24.5 million deal that includes $15 million guaranteed.

Ekeler is in line to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024. 

In 2022, Ekeler appeared in all 17 games for the Chargers and rushed for 915 yards on 204 carries (4.5 YPC) to go along with 107 receptions for 722 yards and 18 total touchdowns.

We’ll have more on Ekeler as the news is available.