The New York Giants and Saquon Barkley remain in a contract dispute and the star running back has made his feelings towards the franchise tag pretty clear — he doesn’t want to play the 2023 season on the $10.1 million tag and if the Giants and him don’t come to an agreement on a long term deal, the possibility of Barkley sitting out games is real.
Dianna Russini of ESPN gave an update on the situation, saying both sides are at a “stalemate” over the contract negotiations and with the July 17th deadline fast approaching, Barkley could potentially miss the team’s Week 1 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Giants made a contract offer to Saquon Barkley earlier in the offseason that would pay Barkley $13 million per year and $26 million over the first two years. The Giants made the offer to Barkley with the clear message that if he declined the offer and the team used the $10.1 million franchise tag that the team would pull that offer off the table.
Well, Barkley still declined that offer and according to Florio’s report, Barkley was seeking a contract worth $16 million per season.
The Giants and Saquon Barkley have until 4 p.m. eastern time on July 17th to come to an agreement or the only option for Barkley would be to either sit out games and forfeit part or all of the $10.1 million that he would earn on the franchise tag or sign the tag and play the 2023 season on it.
