Saquon Barkley Points to This Fly in Contract Negotiation Ointment

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - For New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, all he wanted was a show of respect during his contract negotiations.

The team reportedly tried putting at least three different offers on the table for the running back to consider, all of which he turned down.

And Barkley, in his first public comments since turning down the Giant's last offer and settling for a modified franchise tag, believes that at the end of the day, he did get a semblance of respect, even though dollar-wise it might not have been what he was looking for.

"Yeah, I would say at the end, I got respect from the Giants because I was able to look (general manager) Joe (Schoen) in his eye, look (head coach Brian Daboll) in his eye. Obviously, we didn't come to an agreement, but we were able to put everything aside, and that's part of the business."

Barkley believes that had the franchise tag not been part of the picture, negotiations might have done a lot smoother than they did.

"Yeah, in my mind, I think (a multiyear contract) didn't happen because one--just being flat out honest-- the tag. That's a leverage that they have. If I wasn't tagged, I think the negotiation process would've gone a lot differently. I think I would have a lot more leverage.

"But as I said publicly--and one thing I've learned from this off-season--I wasn't trying to reset the running back market. I said I want something respectable. ... And if I felt like it was something respectable, I would've taken it."

Barkley refused to disclose what he was offered or what he considered "fair" but did emphasize that he's happy, at least for now, that the ugliness that went into the negotiations is done for the time being.

"I'm here now; I'm happy--glad to be back in the locker room," he said. "My teammates--getting a lot of love from them. They're telling me they missed me; OTAs weren't the same without me. I feel like we have a hell of a team, and I'm excited for this year."

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