Depreciating value of NFL running back contracts dismays Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas

Thurman Thomas’ voice rose with a bubbling intensity, expressing dismay over how the running back position has depreciated in value in today’s NFL.

It’s bad enough for the Hall of Famer to see how disposable the game’s top running backs have become, with Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry all changing teams within the past three years.

And don’t get Thomas started on salaries. In 1993, he signed a four-year, $13.5 contract extension that made him and edge rusher Bruce Smith the Buffalo Bills’ highest-paid players in annual pay, making $275,000 per year more than quarterback Jim Kelly.

Rather than rewarding running backs for production once their rookie contracts expire, as happens at almost every other position, the NFL’s 1991 MVP complained teams are instead letting them go and moving on to the next younger and cheaper player.

"You still deserve a contract. The first team has put you through hell and yet, I’m still ready to go. Haven't had any injuries. Now give me my damn money,” Thomas told The Associated Press.

With so much turnover, it's the reason why only three running backs — Barkley, McCaffrey and Henry — are averaging $15 million or more in pay this season, as compared to 26 receivers, per Spotrac.com.

“It's not even receiver money,” Thomas said, before breaking into a laugh. “It’s like we’re hanging with the punters and the kickers.”

Things haven’t sunk that low, but Thomas isn’t far off given how running backs are getting a substantially smaller piece of the payroll pie at a time when the league’s salary cap has jumped by $81 million since 2020.

It’s reflected this year in the NFL’s franchise tag numbers, based on the average top five salaries at each position.

The non-exclusive tag of just over $12 million for running backs ranked 10th out of 11 positions, with kickers/punters bringing up the end at about $6.5 million. In 2011, the running back tag was $9.6 million, ranking eighth, ahead of safeties, tight ends and kickers/punters.

“It truly is a passing league, and I think people want to embrace that,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane told The AP.

“You got to have a quarterback, so it starts there. And then you got to start with protecting him. And then we want to get after the other one,” he added. “It comes down to where do you want to put your money?”

It’s a question Beane faced this offseason in resolving a contract standoff with running back James Cook, who balked at practicing for a week before signing a four-year, $46 million contract extension.

The 25-year-old Cook didn’t get the $15 million per year deal he initially proposed on social media following a season he co-led the NFL with 16 touchdowns rushing. But his new contract’s total value ranks second among running backs, and seventh overall in being due $10.35 million this season.

Though happy with the deal, Cook still believes the position remains undervalued.

“We get banged up a lot and work through a lot of stuff, so we’re always going to get the short end of the stick,” Cook told The AP a week after signing his new deal. “But we tend to work through it, and we’re going to keep pushing through it and get better.”

In a bid to increase salaries, Cook was part of a text chain with fellow NFL running backs that included Barkley and Henry.

“We came together because they shortchanged us,” Cook said in July, noting Barkley and Henry raised the bar by signing contract extensions this offseason. “What they did, it helped us. And we’re going to keep pushing to get what we deserve.”

The 31-year-old Henry signed a two-year, $30 million extension, making him the NFL’s highest-paid running back who is 30 or older.

Barkley signed a two-year, $41.2 million extension in becoming the NFL’s first running back to average more than $20 million per season, which only places him 95th on this year’s list.

Barkley expressed hope his contract would set a trend for fellow running backs, specifically referencing Cook, Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson and Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs.

“I hope they beat it. That’s how I look at it,” Barkley said in March. “It’s about building the position up. ... It’s happening at every other position. I think it should happen for our position, too.”

This year’s draft provided a glimmer of hope for the position with Ashton Jeanty (chosen No. 6 by Las Vegas) and Omarion Hampton (22nd by the Chargers) selected in the first round, and four taken among the top 50. It doubled the average of two running backs being selected among the top 50 over the previous six drafts.

More teams, however, are using a committee approach to running backs, rotating in two and even three players depending on the situation, in further depleting the position’s value because they're getting fewer touches.

Last season, six players topped 300 carries, led by Barkley’s 345. In 2006, 10 players topped 300 carries, including Larry Johnson’s single-season NFL-record 416, despite teams playing one fewer regular-season game.

“I think you can always make an argument about touches and usage, especially when it comes to contracts,” Lions GM Brad Holmes said. “But at the end of the day, it’s about what you do with those touches more. ... I think you’ve got to look at it as case by case.”

Giants running back Devin Singletary said the hole Barkley left in New York’s offense coupled by his league-leading production in helping the Eagles win the Super Bowl raised the level of respect for running backs.

“You kind of already have a chip on your shoulder,” Singletary said. “I think we all as a collective want to show everybody, hey, we’re important, too. The competitor in you definitely would want to show the world that, all right, we still need running backs.”

One step at a time, perhaps.

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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow and AP Sports Writers Larry Lage and Stephen Whyno contributed.

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