Saquon Barkley Thinks Derrick Henry is Being Underpaid By the Baltimore Ravens

At 4:25 p.m. E.T. on Sunday, when the Philadelphia Eagles (9-2) battle the Baltimore Ravens (8-4) at M&T Bank Stadium, fans will also witness a battle of the RBs. The game will feature Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry, who were the league’s top two rushers through Week 12.

Barkley and Henry have each surpassed 1,300 yards already this season. No other running back has eclipsed 1,000 yards. Barkley (6.2) and Henry (6.0) are also the NFL leaders in yards per carry. They handle large workloads every week – they’re first and second, respectively, in rushing attempts – yet maintain incredible efficiency. They are two peas in a pod.

However, this similarity does not extend to their paychecks. Both men changed teams and received new contracts in free agency, but Barkley’s deal ($12.58 million) pays him nearly 60% more per year than Henry’s ($8 million). Barkley spoke about their pay disparity on The Pivot podcast earlier this season and expressed the belief that “King Henry” should have a higher salary.

“I love that he’s a 30-year-old running back, and he’s balling… I don’t pocket watch; ‘everybody get your money, get your paper.’ But there are a lot of people right now that are getting paid a lot more than Derrick Henry… what are we really talking about?”

Running back paydays have slowly been slipping over the past decade. Most NFL franchises use a “running back by committee” approach these days in lieu of true bellcows.

As a result, they’ve cut costs at the position. The method can be sound when building a team, but Barkley and other rushers hate it.

Running backs used to be the NFL’s biggest stars. But the days of Jim Brown, Walter Payton, and Adrian Peterson, among others, have long faded into the past. As passing continues becoming more prevalent, running backs are regularly minimized. In 2004, 22 ball carriers averaged more than 17 carries per game. This year, only eight rushers have topped that amount.

Saquon Barkley: “F*ck analytics”

The gradual reduction in running back opportunities has come with the league’s embrace of analytics. Most franchises follow a belief along the lines of an 80/20 rule: “You can get 80% of a star running back’s production for 20% of the cost.” This may be true in most instances, but doesn’t track when it comes to upper-echelon talents.

Barkley and Henry’s presence makes things easier for the rest of their offense. Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson are having the best passing seasons of their career with them in the fold. The general refusal of front offices to look at each specific running back under the microscope, however, greatly agitates Barkley.

“F*ck analytics bruh. I’m so tired of that sh*t… ‘but the analytics show this.’ Don’t put numbers on me. Don’t put numbers on Derrick Henry… Barry [Sanders] was in his thirties rocking out… Adrian Peterson was in his thirties rocking out. Emmitt [Smith] was in his thirties rocking out.”

While Barkley is excited to see Henry playing well to help future running backs, he also wants him to “slow down.” Barkley wants to win the league’s rushing title this year. Since Henry already has two of those, he’d like him to ease off the gas and aid his quest for one.

Both Philadelphia and Baltimore enter their matchup yielding less than 100 rush yards per game. Their offenses lead the NFL in rushing yards per game. Whichever team is best able to execute their ground attack against the other’s stout defense could be the determining factor in who comes out on top.