Fans left stunned after Cole Kmet’s $50,000,000 deal dwarfs Saquon Barkley’s new deal - “RBs are second-class citizens”

Cole Kmet's latest contract with the Chicago Bears has thrown Saquon Barkley's contract situation with the New York Giants into sharp relief. The Bears tight end ended up netting a $50 million contract over a four-year span. The Giants running back, meanwhile, struggled for over nine months before getting franchise tagged.

He signed an adjusted tag meaning he gets nearly a million above that but it is a total of $11 million. It is also for one-year and there is no guarnatee that he will not be put on the franchise tag again next year.

Saquon Barkley was one of the reasons, if not the main one, why the New York Giants reached the playoffs last season. Meanwhile, they Chicago Bears finished with the worst record among all the 32 teams in the league.

[Brett Kollmann] “Come on, you have to admit that Saquon scratching and clawing with every fiber of his being to get Cole Kmet money is kind of hilarious.” by u/bostoneer37 in nfl

On face value, the comparison between the two deals shows that the running back market has depreciated way too much in value when contrasted with other positions. NFL fans were quick to note so and made their views clear on Reddit.

Comment by u/Kegsun92 from discussion [Brett Kollmann] “Come on, you have to admit that Saquon scratching and clawing with every fiber of his being to get Cole Kmet money is kind of hilarious.” in nfl

Comment by u/20000BallsUndrTheSea from discussion [Brett Kollmann] “Come on, you have to admit that Saquon scratching and clawing with every fiber of his being to get Cole Kmet money is kind of hilarious.” in nfl

Comment by u/ASuperGyro from discussion [Brett Kollmann] “Come on, you have to admit that Saquon scratching and clawing with every fiber of his being to get Cole Kmet money is kind of hilarious.” in nfl

Comment by u/ElixirCXVII from discussion [Brett Kollmann] “Come on, you have to admit that Saquon scratching and clawing with every fiber of his being to get Cole Kmet money is kind of hilarious.” in nfl

Comment by u/TheLowlyPheasant from discussion [Brett Kollmann] “Come on, you have to admit that Saquon scratching and clawing with every fiber of his being to get Cole Kmet money is kind of hilarious.” in nfl

Comment by u/thetreat from discussion [Brett Kollmann] “Come on, you have to admit that Saquon scratching and clawing with every fiber of his being to get Cole Kmet money is kind of hilarious.” in nfl

Comment by u/NateDawg122 from discussion [Brett Kollmann] “Come on, you have to admit that Saquon scratching and clawing with every fiber of his being to get Cole Kmet money is kind of hilarious.” in nfl

Comment by u/Bobaximus from discussion [Brett Kollmann] “Come on, you have to admit that Saquon scratching and clawing with every fiber of his being to get Cole Kmet money is kind of hilarious.” in nfl

Comment by u/edwardsamson from discussion [Brett Kollmann] “Come on, you have to admit that Saquon scratching and clawing with every fiber of his being to get Cole Kmet money is kind of hilarious.” in nfl

Comment by u/BelichicksBurner from discussion [Brett Kollmann] “Come on, you have to admit that Saquon scratching and clawing with every fiber of his being to get Cole Kmet money is kind of hilarious.” in nfl

Comparing Saquon Barkley to Cole Kmet

With Cole Kmet catching strays because of Saquon Barkley's issues with the New York Giants, it might be good to look at where they stood coming into this season.

Cole Kmet had 544 total offensive yards and seven touchdowns. Saquon Barkley had 1,312 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. In fact, if we look at his receiving output, it is not too bad compared to the tight end. He ended up with 338 receiving yards.

It is fair to say at the moment Saquon Barkley is a more consequential player for his team in the league. But the issue is that contracts rarely pay you for who you are but they pay you for what you would be. The running back position takes a lot of beating over the years and most players drop off coming into their late 20s. On the other hand, somebody like Cole Kmet can only improve if given the right support.

The issue is with the trajectory of the two positions. That is why the Chicago Bears player is a getting a longer and bigger contract. The fundamental issue remains the ability of teams to use rookie contract and franchise tags to artificially deflate the running back market during their prime years.

That is a systemic change that needs to be done in the NFL. It is unlikely to happen before the next collective bargaining agreement. Until that time, there are not many good recourses available to running backs.