While Barkley’s impact might not improve the value of the position as a whole, league sources said his success could lead to greater compensation for top-tier free agent running backs and in-house extension candidates.It’s going to give pause to folks who maybe haven’t invested in running backs to rethink that,” one AFC talent evaluator told ESPN. “But I’m not sure it’s going to move the needle so much that you see a real sea change across the entire position.””Good players are going to get paid well,” he said. “But I don’t think the trend is all of a sudden to pay running backs because of Saquon.”In a class anchored by Barkley, Henry and Jacobs, the top seven 2024 free agent running backs averaged $12 million in guaranteed money, up from $7.1 million in 2023, $4.8 million in 2022 and $4.5 million in 2021.As Barkley rushed and hurdled his way into MVP contention, the rest of the class also outperformed recent free agent classes. In his first year with the Ravens, Henry ran for 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns, averaging 5.9 yards per carry, while Jacobs racked up 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns on 4.By comparison, the top seven running backs in the 2023 free agent class combined for 3,093 rush yards. Only David Montgomery (9th) finished among the league’s top 30 rushers. The top seven in the 2022 class rushed for 2,433 yards. Cordarrelle Patterson (39th) ranked the highest among those seven in rushing yards. And in 2021, the same sample size combined for 2,475 rushing yards.The 2024 class is undoubtedly an outlier, but some in the NFL believe their success as a group helps strengthen a market that lagged behind other skill positions just a couple of years ago as supply outpaced demand.
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