Eagles Ex Miles Sanders Slams 'B.S.' RB Market: ‘It Sucks!’
The running back position has been one facing high scrutiny this offseason, with many players at the position getting cut and only a few large multi-year contracts being handed out in free agency.
The top multi-year contract signed thus far this offseason belongs to former Philadelphia Eagles running back Miles Sanders, who agreed to a four-year, $25.4 million deal with the Carolina Panthers. While Sanders received $13 million in guaranteed money, the average annual value of $6.35 million is significantly lower than in previous years.
During his Wednesday appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show,” Sanders joined the growing number of running backs expressing concern about the shrinking market for their position.
"I think it's B.S., honestly. Almost every running back is underpaid right now,” Sanders said. “I don't know what it's gonna take. That's a topic that needs to be brought up a little more because it sucks to be a running back right now, honestly.”
The offseason began on a foreboding note for running backs, as the top three pending free agents, Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, and Tony Pollard, were all franchise tagged at $10.091 million.
Sanders emphasized that the implementation of the franchise tag restricted his opportunities in the market.
"Just to really try to get a deal done because I know that the numbers were dropping literally daily as soon as free agency started," Sanders said. "Once they made the market $10 million, it was very hard to even negotiate anything even more than that or get like a deal that everybody's been dreaming of -- the Christian McCaffery deal, the Alvin Kamara deal.”
To challenge the prevailing perspective on allocating substantial contracts to running backs, Sanders must successfully replicate his Pro Bowl season of 2022. Only by doing so can he demonstrate that running backs deserve the significant contracts they seek.
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