Fans push Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs to seek Saudi Arabia's help after Kylian Mbappe's crazy $1B contract offer: “Tap into that Saudi money”

By Bethany Cohen

Published Jul 24, 2023 18:32 GMT

Kylian Mbappe's one-billion-dollar contract offer has NFL fans suggesting that running backs hire their agents.

Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs, along with the rest of the running backs in the NFL, have been vocal about their pay grade. Running backs received the lowest franchise tag this season, which has led to Barkley and Jacobs holding out for contract extensions.

Their frustration about the NFL not showing the position any value garnered even more attention on Monday morning. It was reported that soccer star Kylian Mbappé was offered $1.1 billion to play just one season for Saudi club Al-Hilal. Mbappé is currently unhappy with his current club, Paris Saint-Germain, and isn't playing with the team this summer.

The striker would receive over $700 million in salary for the season, with the rest being paid to Paris Saint Germain as a transfer fee. Although international soccer and the NFL are quite different, many fans couldn't believe the type of money that is being offered to soccer players. As they see some of their favorite NFL players fight for their contracts.

While discussing the matter on social media, fans encouraged NFL running backs to get in touch with the soccer star's agent.

Others took note that his one-year salary is three times the amount of the NFL salary cap. Clearly, both professional sports leagues are in different financial situations but, it still is a bit shocking to see the difference in pay.

What would it take for the Giants to get Saquon Barkley to report to training camp?

As of right now running back Saquon Barkley won't be reporting to New York Giants training camp. The team is scheduled to report on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, and unless a contract is agreed upon, the running back will not be in attendance.

What will the New York Giants have to do to get their running back to report? Obviously, it involves a lucrative contract that will pay him more than the $10.1 million franchise tag. Since the two sides failed to negotiate a contract extension by last Monday, he can only receive a one-year deal for this season.

General manager Joe Schoen will have to offer a contract worth around the $15 million mark. He may also want to agree not to use the franchise tag on the running back again next season. In hopes that the two sides will agree on an extension next offseason.

Those two concepts are really the only bargaining tools the New York Giants may have at this point.

About the author

Bethany Cohen is an NFL writer at Sportskeeda, with a rich prior 15-year experience in the sports writing industry, primarily covering the MLB and MiLB. She majored in Communications from the University of South Florida and has previously worked for top companies such as Examiner.com and Legends on Deck.

Bethany owes her NFL allegiance to the Pittsburgh Steelers owing to their long-standing tradition and competitiveness. She is a fan of old stalwarts such as Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris and would love to watch them in the 1970s if she manages to get her hand on a time machine. She also acknowledges the greatness of modern icons like T.J. Watt for his desire to continuously improve despite being on top. She admires coaches Mike Tomlin and Andy Reid for their longevity and success.

The ace reporter credits her knowledge and love for the sport to be her biggest reporting strengths. Prior fact-checking is a big component of her process and she always scours through additional sources to ensure complete accuracy in her content.

Super Bowl XLIII, when the Steelers won the the grand prize after Santonio Holmes’ epic catch in the end zone with just seconds left on the clock is etched in Bethany’s memory forever. When she is free of her professional commitments, she likes to attend sports events and music concerts.

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