NFL Notes: Saquon Barkley, Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski

Saquon Barkley

Running backs across the league were paying attention to Ezekiel Elliott‘s contract situation. But none benefited from Elliott’s six-year, $90 million extension more than Giants RB Saquon Barkley. Barkley won’t be eligible for a contract extension until after the 2020 season, but when he does cash in, he’s expected to cash in big. 

“If he were my client, I’d ask for at least five years and $100 million,” one prominent agent said via NJ.com’s Matt Lombardo. “He’ll definitely be the first $100 million running back and probably get $70 million guaranteed.”

• Former NFL agent Joel Corry believes Barkley could be in line for a contract similar to Browns WR Odell Beckham‘s five-year, $90 million deal that included $65 million guaranteed. 
• Corry points out that Giants QB Daniel Jones will still be playing under his rookie contract by the time Barkley’s deal is addressed, which means they would have the necessary cap space.  
• As for a possible timeline for Barkley’s extension, Corry suggests 2022 could be his best option since it will be after the NFL negotiates a new media rights deal. 

Antonio Brown

• According to former NFL GM Mike Tannenbaum, not only would a suspension by the team void Raiders WR Antonio Brown‘s remaining $29.125 million in guarantees, it would also prevent him from being on the active roster Week 1 causing his $14.625 million 2019 salary to not be guaranteed. 
• That means if the Raiders suspended and then released Brown, they would owe him nothing aside from the initial $1 million signing bonus he was paid, and even then Tannenbaum says Oakland could try to recoup that. 
• Benjamin Allbright says Brown’s issues are with Raiders GM Mike Mayock personally. Brown has felt disrespected and talked down to, thought the fines were unnecessary and believes the front office didn’t have his back during the foot issue stemming from a cryotherapy accident.
• The Raiders might not have to suspend Brown to void his remaining guarantees, as his contract includes language allowing guarantees to be voided for missing practice or leaving the club without written permission. (Tom Pelissero)

Rob Gronkowski

Former Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski said he realized that he needed to retire from the NFL after “getting smoked by every rookie” during practice. 

“It was about like two years ago there was a game-changer in my life,” Gronkowski said, via HBO’s The Shop: Uninterrupted. “I was trying to go out to the practices in the summer and I was getting smoked by every rookie. I felt in order to do something bigger in life, in order to get to a higher stage, I felt like I had to get away from the game and focus on my health. I lived the typical party life. I was eating f—–g s–t every second. I was just trying to put on weight, I was living that life. At the same time, I was going out and playing f—–g football and running people over, getting the f–k ran over.”