One of the most perplexing developments in professional football lately has undoubtedly been the devaluing of the running back position. The past few NFL seasons, running backs have noticeably been offered less and less compensation in their contracts.
Did I miss something? The heralded offensive leader of a team is known to be the Quarterback, the ‘heart and soul’ label of the offense has been applied to offensive linemen, but running backs truly are the motor that keeps an offense running (literally). So what exactly has caused this?
One reason that has been tossed around is their ‘shelf life’ is much shorter than other positions. While it is true that running backs have historically phased out of the league much quicker than most other positions due to the amount of hits they take, this should not devalue the position as a whole.
There are many running backs that have enjoyed long and successful careers (Adrian Peterson and Frank Gore for example). If teams are so worried about service time, instead of offering less money to impactful running backs on multi-year deals, would it not make more sense to offer them a larger sum in 1-year contracts instead?
Another reason for the decline in running back value seems to be the growing popularity of the ‘running back by committee’ approach. The workhorse ‘every down back’ role is starting to die off, but does that mean the running back position is less important? Absolutely not.
Running backs set the tone with the all important ground game which is much needed in order to establish an effective passing attack – yet receivers are raking in all the dough. Committee or not, running backs that make an impact should get the recognition and compensation they deserve – right?
Saquon Barkley. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
As more and more prominent running backs hold out for better contracts, the free agency market continues to heat up for players teams can acquire for less, but you get what you pay for. Quality running backs like Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott and Kareem Hunt all remain unsigned at the time of this article.
Proven commodities are now being forced to either accept a skewed contract to remain in the league, or continue sitting out. Jonathan Taylor has requested a trade from the Indianapolis Colts, Austin Ekeler is frustrated with the Los Angeles Chargers’ unwillingness to pay him what he is worth, Saquon Barkley had to go to war with the New York Giants just to get a decent contract renewal. These are just a few current examples of the ongoing fight for running backs.
There is no doubt that rookie running backs bring a lot of value to teams, and rookie contracts are also a way for teams to keep the running back position cap low. However, these rookies will eventually need to renew their contract and they will inevitably fall into the same cycle that is brewing now.
The argument being made is not that running backs who continually get injured or have fallen out of their prime should be getting big contracts, the argument is that the running back position is one of the most important roles on a team and there should be no reason that the position as a whole should be undervalued.
Whether teams opt to pay lesser amounts to free agents, draft rookies in later rounds to replace older backs, or offer meager contracts to important veteran backs, the position will always hold significant value and there should be no hesitation to offer justified contracts to some of the best players in the game.
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