For the second time in less than a week, and the third time in less than four months, the compensation market for NFL running backs has been reset, giving a big jolt of new energy to a long-overlooked position.
The Lions agreed to a three-year contract extension with running back Jahmyr Gibbs worth up to $75.75 million that includes $51.5 million in guaranteed money and makes him the NFL’s highest paid player ever at that position. Just two days earlier, that status had been with the Falcons’ Bijan Robinson, who signed a three-year deal worth up to $75 million with $51 million guaranteed.
The Gibbs and Robinson deals, meanwhile, highlight a larger push toward running backs gaining considerably larger contracts. The Colts’ Jonathan Taylor signed a two-year, $44 million deal on Thursday, with $39 million of that guaranteed, while earlier in the offseason, other stars such as the Chiefs’ Kenneth Walker III and the Dolphins’ De’Von Achane signed lucrative new deals.
Each of these veteran deals, meanwhile, were influenced in part by Cardinals rookie Jeremiyah Love, the No. 3 pick in April’s NFL Draft, who immediately reset the running back market with a four-year, $53 million contract, with all of that guaranteed.
