“Nobody Goes to Games to See Daniel Jones”: OJ Simpson Chimes In On The ‘RB Debate’ Amidst Saquon Barkley’s Standoff With Giants

The NFL’s running back market has taken a sudden hit and several veterans and current players, including OJ Simpson and Christian McCaffrey, are not happy about it. With each passing day, the contract standoff between star RB Saquon Barkley and the Giants intensifies. And with a similar situation happening with Raiders’ Josh Jacobs and Cowboys’ Tony Pollard, it’s not looking good for the teams.

Saquon Barkley was drafted by the Giants in the 2018 NFL draft as the second overall pick. Soon after which he secured a 4 year, fully guaranteed $31.2 million rookie contract. In 2021 the Giants picked up the fifth-year option in Barkley’s contract for $7.217 million for the year 2022. However, as the Giants move on to the 2023 season both sides fail to reach equal grounds placing Barkley in a non-exclusive franchise tag. And by doing so, the Giants’ decision was taken in bad taste, especially by OJ Simpson.

OJ Simpson Backs Saquon Barkley Against the Giants

OJ Simpson himself being an ex-NFL RB, undoubtedly has a soft side for the running backs. Keeping in mind the ongoing Barkley-Giants standoff which has significantly dropped the values of the RBs, it was clear that OJ Simpson would take a firm stance on the matter. Recently, Simpson issued his statement through a 03:38-minute video with the caption, “Shame on the Raiders, Giants and the NFL.”

“He [Saquon Barkley] is all that the Giants have,” Simpson said. “Nobody goes to games to see Daniel Jones. God bless you I’m happy you got your money. But he’s [Barkley] making the third of what he’s [Jones] making.”

He kept reiterating Barkley’s importance with the Giants and him being the only reason why people tune in to watch a Giants game. “10 million dollars is 10 million dollars,” Simpson adds on not skipping training camps and games, in response to Barkley’s decision not to show up.

Saquon Barkley Goes Public With His Giants Rant

Amidst looming tensions with the Giants, star RB Saquon Barkley decided to go public in a raw take. In an interview on The Money Matters Podcast published on Monday, Barkley discussed his future move as the contract drama continues.

“My leverage is I could say, ‘f— you’ to the Giants, I could say, ‘f— you to my teammates,’ “ Barkley said. “And be like, ‘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.”

Barkley is all set to make $10.1 million fully guaranteed in 2023. However, he is yet to sign the franchise tag tender placed on him by the Giants. But it’s still to be seen if the Giants offer him a multi-year deal.