Saquon Barkley Flaunts Leverage Over New York Giants, Who Offered The RB $10.1 Million Next Season

If you haven't heard, NFL running back, Saquon Barkley is mad that the New York Giants did not give in to his contract extension demands.

When both sides failed to reach a contract extension for Barkley, the team franchise tagged him.

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Through a bevy of headlines, and now a podcast appearance, Barkley is throwing shade at New York for not offering him his preferred contract extension.

Saquon Barkley Shades Giants For Lack of Extension

Barkley even uses big boy words to voice his frustrations with the Giants.

During an interview on "The Money Matters Podcast" on Monday, Barkley flaunted his negotiating leverage over New York, despite never having reached a deal.

"My leverage is I could say, 'F--k you' to the Giants, I could say, 'F--k you to my teammates,'" Barkley said.

Barkley's contract extension talks ended Monday before the 4 p.m. (EST) deadline.

He added, "'You want me to show you my worth? You want me to show you how valuable I am to the team? I won't show up. I won't play a down.' And that's a play I could use."

Clearly, Saquon needed to vent.

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Barkley believes he deserves to get paid at or around the league's highest figure at the position.

Now he's bemoaning that the Giants offered him a deal ... just not the one he wanted.

To start, Barkley is a player who's worth his salt.

Frequently putting the Giants offense on his back and being a poised leader for the team, the former second-overall pick holds a strong following in New York that is certainly up in arms over the Giants' reticence.

Barkley's critics argue that despite Barkley's Herculean performances, the Giants lack a consistent success on offense since drafting him in 2018.

Sad Times For Saquon Barkley (and the Giants?)

The Giants are 19-40-1 with Barkley. While the onus does not fall on Barkley, his production and the relative record suggest he's more of a high-end accessory than a must-have for the offense.

If the Giants indeed offered a top-five contract at the position to Barkley, is it entirely on them to give in to steeper contract demands? The reported annual salary offering of $14 million (relative to the market) sounds like enough for a player of Barkley's impact.

NFL running backs have looked at Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard's respective negotiations and characterized it as "end times" for RBs around the league.

What they overlook is the situations each team is in.

The Giants haven't won steadily with Saquon.

Tony Pollard's sample size is too low in Dallas.

Josh Jacobs is the expensive toy inherited from the previous front office regime.

Big Blue's front office chose to sign Daniel Jones to a contract extension before Barkley. They understood that the quarterback should be a better long-term investment for a budding offense.

Some argued Jones was over-paid, but the priority over Barkley was warranted.

The Giants found improved success in 2022 under first-year HC Brian Daboll. Since his days as OC in Buffalo, Daboll has favored throwing the ball over the run game more frequently than most offenses. So why the need to extend Barkley with a huge deal?

This is the struggle of balancing the books in New York for general manager Joe Schoen.

Barkley understood that notion, encapsulated with his tweet on Monday after the extension deadline passed: "It is what it is."