August 18th 2023.
The NFL landscape is changing, and unfortunately, it is not favoring running backs. Saquon Barkley, Tony Pollard, and Josh Jacobs, three of the top running backs in the league, recently found this out when their respective teams assigned each of them a one-year franchise tag. This means that the players are locked in for that year and will be paid a predetermined salary based on the average contract of what is paid at that position.
N. Jeremi Duru, a professor of sports law at American University, commented on the devaluing of the running back position, saying it is "extraordinary" that it has gone from a premier and valued position to one that is now struggling. He believes this is due to the shift in the game to favor the passing game, but teams are not paying running backs like they should.
Duru believes running backs can take legal action and form their own union, but this would be difficult to do and would not likely be supported by the NFL or the NFLPA. So, for now, running backs may have to just deal with the current situation until the game changes and values the running back position once again.
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