Months after he had taken No. 2 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft in April, running back Saquon Barkley finally signed his rookie deal with the New York Giants on Sunday.
Barkley signed the four-year deal when he reported to training camp. The contract is worth a fully guaranteed $31.2 million, including a $20.76 million signing bonus. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network Insider, the Giants will pay out the $15 million signing bonus immediately and the rest of the money by October.
Kim Miale of Roc Nation Sports announced the deal by posting a photo of Barkley smiling while signing his contract with the Giants.
With Barkley's signing, the Giants have signed all but one of their five picks in the 2018 NFL Draft. Defensive tackle RJ McIntosh is the only unsigned draft pick by the Giants.
Earlier, guard Will Hernandez of UTEP (second-round pick), outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter of Georgia (third-round pick), defensive tackle B.J. Hill of North Carolina State (third-round pick), and quarterback Kyle Lauletta of Richmond (fourth-round pick) signed their respective rookie deals.
Saquon Barkley Now One Of Highest-Paid NFL Rushers
Barkley's new deal has made him the fourth-highest-paid running back in the NFL in terms of total value and average annual salary.
Currently, Le'Veon Bell of the Pittsburgh Steelers leads the pack with a salary of $14.54 million from his franchise tag while Atlanta Falcons' Devonta Freeman is second with a total value of $41.25 million and average annual salary of $8.25 million.
Buffalo Bills' LeSean McCoy is third with a total value of $40.05 million and average annual salary of $8.01 million. Barkley, for his part, will earn an average of $7.8 million per season, per Over the Cap.
Barkley's contract exceeds that of reigning NFL leading rusher Kareem Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs and Pro Bowlers Marshawn Lynch of the Oakland Raiders, Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams, and Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys.
An Outstanding Career At Penn State
In his three seasons at Penn State, Barkley ran for 3,843 yards and 43 touchdowns. Barkley also showed his catching ability, as he received 102 passes for 1195 yards and eight touchdowns. During that span, Barkley averaged 7.0 yards per play and 145.7 yards per outing.
Barkley is expected to improve the Giants' running game, which ranked 26th in rushing offense last season. The Giants garnered just 1,549 yards or 96.8 rushing yards per outing while their opponents totaled 1,933 ground yards.
Orleans Darkwa was the Giants' top rusher last season, rushing 171 times for 751 yards and five of the team's six total rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Eli Manning accounted for the team's sixth rushing score.
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