Saquon signs new deal, ends Giants stalemate

Running back Saquon Barkley has signed his franchise tag with the New York Giants, the team announced Tuesday.

The deal is a one-year, adjusted franchise tag worth $10.1 million fully guaranteed and up to $11 million with incentives, sources told ESPN. The tag was adjusted to add a $2 million signing bonus, as well as the incentives, sources said.

The $909,000 in incentives includes an equal amount paid for three categories: 1,350 rushing yards and a playoff berth, 11 touchdowns and 65 receptions, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The deal does not include a “no franchise tag” clause, sources told ESPN, meaning the Giants can tag him again after this season. This is something Barkley and his team were hoping to receive.

This was quite a concession by Barkley to report on the first day of training camp for veterans. The Pro Bowl running back was already in the building Tuesday before 8 a.m. ET, a source told ESPN.

Showing up on the first day of camp alongside his teammates reinforces the perception that Barkley is a team-first player. It will limit the questions and drama that surely would have clouded Giants camp if he did not report.

Barkley said during an appearance recently on “The Money Matters” podcast that he may consider not playing this season amid his stalemate with the team over a long-term contract. He said at his AMPT football camp last month that sitting out the season would be “part of the conversation” if there was no long-term deal.

The Giants and Barkley did not agree to a deal before the deadline for franchised players to agree to long-term contracts, meaning he would have had to play this season under the $10.091 million franchise tender.

But the rules do permit for players in this situation to negotiate an adjusted one-year contract. It’s a rarely-used option.

Barkley, 26, did not sign the franchise tag tender this spring or summer and wasn’t allowed in the team facility as a result of the rules. He wasn’t expected at training camp this summer if there wasn’t at least an altered deal.

Barkley finished fourth in the NFL with a career-high 1,312 rushing yards last season, ran for 10 touchdowns and tied for the team lead with 57 receptions. He has played in 60 career games over five seasons since being the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2018, when he was named Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The Giants and Barkley had been working for nine months to reach an agreement on a deal. It was a bumpy route to landing on this temporary solution.

Barkley wasn’t happy with the way the negotiations were being portrayed. He thought the details that were being reported throughout made him look “greedy.”

While some of the deals that were offered reached up to $13-$14 million per season, Barkley did not find them sufficient in terms of guaranteed money and structure, sources told ESPN. It created an impasse.

The Giants and Barkley’s team did not make much progress from when they signed quarterback Daniel Jones in March (which allowed the tag to be used on Barkley) until just days before the mid-July deadline to strike a long-term deal. Barkley even added a new agent, Ed Perry from CAA, to expedite the process.

In the moments prior to the deadline, the two sides were believed to be around just $2 million apart, according to sources.