Running back Miles Sanders signed a multi-year deal with the Panthers as a free agent this offseason, but that isn’t stopping him from joining the chorus of players at the position decrying the way the league values them.
Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, and Tony Pollard haven’t been able to land long-term contracts after being franchise-tagged early in the offseason, which has been taken by other backs as an eye-opening commentary on how little the league thinks they’re worth. During an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Sanders said it’s a “big topic” and that there’s “nothing that we’re doing wrong” to contribute to an artificially-deflated market.
“You want to franchise tag and create a certain market for running backs just because you have this way of thinking that they only last three or four years,” Sanders said. “I think it’s B.S., honestly. Almost every running back is underpaid right now. 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.”
Sanders is set to make $25.4 million over the life of his four-year deal with the Panthers and he said that the situation for running backs “makes me hungrier” to “force a new contract” at some point down the road. Recent trends suggest that would be an unlikely development, but Sanders should get plenty of chances to thrive for the Panthers this fall.
