Saquon Barkley speaks out, explains his leverage on the Giants after contract impasse

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley could very well opt not to play a single down during the 2023 season after he and the team failed to reach an agreement on a long-term extension by the Monday 4 p.m. ET deadline for franchise-tagged players.

Making a recent appearance on “The Money Matters” podcast, Barkley said that sitting out the entire season could be an effective way of showing how valuable he is to the Giants. Le’Veon Bell pulled off the exact scenario in 2018 with the Pittsburgh Steelers before landing a four-year, $52.5 million deal with the New York Jets the following offseason.

Update: Saquon Barkley explains his leverage on the #Giants – 'F**k You'

"My leverage is I could say, 'F–k you' to the Giants, I could say, 'F–k you to my teammates,'"

"And be like, 'You want me to show you my worth? You want me to show you how valuable I am to the team? I… pic.twitter.com/py0VB9fdpO

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) July 19, 2023

“My leverage is I could say, ‘f— you’ to the Giants. I could say, ‘f— you to my teammates,’” Barkley said, via Dov Kleiman. “And be like, ‘You want me to show you my worth? You want me to show you how valuable I am to the team? I won’t show up. I won’t play a down.’ And that’s a play I could use.”

The two sides failed to agree to a deal before the deadline after New York placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Barkley in March. According to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, the Giants refused to up their offer of $11 million per year with just north of $22 million fully guaranteed. New York’s offer was reportedly within $1 million to $2 million of Barkley’s reduced asking price. Barkley will instead earn $10.091 million under the non-exclusive franchise tag in 2023.

“It is what it is,” Barkley tweeted.

Barkley, the two-time Pro Bowler, is coming off one of his best seasons to date in the NFL. He rushed for a career-high 1,312 yards on 4.4 yards per carry and 10 touchdowns. Barkley added 57 receptions for 338 yards through the air.

NFL insider Sal Paolantonio puts Saquon Barkley failed contract negation into perspective

NFL insider Sal Paolantonio spoke about the state of the running back market as it relates to Barkley on ESPN’s “Get Up” Tuesday, putting some perspective on the situation with Dan Orlovsky, Mike Greenberg, and Kimberly Martin.

“Dan’s right. The NFL running back market is broken Greeny, but the NFL broke the market and they’re going to have to fix it,” Paolantonio said. “So let us put it into perspective right, let’s say Saquon Barkley and the Giants were close as Kimberly said. Maybe about $5 million a year guaranteed money close. That’s two percent. Two percent of the of the $225 million salary cap, so you’re basically ruining your team for two percent?”