Monday night the Cleveland Browns played the Pittsburgh Steelers. What was another great game in this historic rivalry turned sour really quickly. In the second quarter of the game Cleveland’s running back, Nick Chubb, suffered a gruesome injury that left the entire stadium sick to their stomachs. A replay of the injury was not shown on television, but when the replay was shown on the Pittsburgh Jumbotron you could hear the crowd react to the injury.
Nick Chubb is one of the NFL’s premier running backs and has been since he entered the league in 2018. The Browns are one of the NFL’s only teams that focuses its offensive scheme on running the ball, thanks to Chubb. Chubb will be out for the remainder of the NFL season and now has to face the reality that his career could be in jeopardy.[1]
A major topic in the NFL that has been developing for the past years but especially came to the forefront this year, is the topic of paying running backs. Some of the top running backs in the NFL did not report to their teams’ facilities on the appropriate date due to contract disputes. Saquan Barkley and Josh Jacobs held out in hopes of receiving a max contract, however this did not happen and both players had to settle with contract values that were lower than desired.
When comparing the franchise tag values of different positions around the NFL, running backs rank the lowest.[2] The franchise tag for running backs has decreased from $10.9 million in 2015 to $10 million in 2023.[3] In that same time period quarterbacks went from $18.5 million to $32.4 million, and wide receivers went from $12.8 million to $19.7 million.[4] As you can see, running backs are not valued as highly as other positions in today’s NFL.
Despite being underpaid, running backs are involved with the majority of offensive plays. For example, in week 2, San Francisco 49ers running back, Christian McCaffrey, was in for 100% of the offensive snaps.[5] Likewise, Saquan Barkley was in for 97% of the Giants offensive snaps.[6] To make matters worse, Barkley went down in week 2 with an ankle injury. Also in week 2, the New Orleans Saints running back, Jamaal Williams, went down with an injury – there were three star running backs injured in this week.
Interestingly enough, prior to week 2, on September 11th, the NFL “filed a grievance against the NFL Players Association, alleging that union leaders, including president JC Tretter, have advised running backs to ‘consider feigning or exaggerating injuries’ to help increase their leverage in contract negotiations.”[7] The NFL stated that the NFLPA made suggestions to running backs during a meeting in the summer.[8] If players were found to be faking an injury, they would be in violation of their CBA and contract.[9]
With running backs being devalued and their usage not declining, NFL running backs are facing a major issue. This is where the NFLPA needs to step in and make changes and help out its members. Whether it be reducing the number of years required to spend in college or increasing the franchise tag, the NFLPA needs to act quickly to protect its running backs.
There have even been talks about running backs’ agents teaming up and all forming a coalition in order to increase the bargaining power of the running backs.[10] This would provide running backs with some level of protection and would help running backs get the most value possible out of their contracts. Whether it be the NFLPA or the athletes’ attorneys themselves, someone needs to step in to ensure that the running back position does not become so undervalued that it becomes extinct.
[1] Nick Chubb injury: Surgeon claims NFL career could be over as disturbing image emerges
[2] 2023 NFL franchise tag numbers: A look at values and who was tagged (sportsnaut.com)
[3] NFL running backs are angry – and peace seems a long way off | NFL | The Guardian
[4] Id.
[5] 2023 NFL Snap Count Leaders | Running Backs %s | FantasyPros
[6] Id.
[7] NFL files grievance, claims NFLPA advised RBs to exaggerate injuries – ESPN
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] Next step for running back coalition: Coordination among their agents – NBC Sports
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