Bag alert, bag alert, bag alert, bag alert, bag alert folks.
That's right.
Ramon Dre Stevenson gets paid.
All right.
Yes.
We got some motion.
We got some friction.
We got something to talk about folks.
What does this mean for the future running back contracts and will running back contracts
ever exceed to the $20 million mark?
We're going to talk about all about this.
This is a packed episode, a lot of twists and turns, but trust me, follow me.
I'll lead you all the way through.
I am your host, your GM, your favorite GM who still is not on the team right now.
Kale, let's get it.
All right, folks.
So this is a little bit of a shocker.
I definitely put out that we were going to take a break just because I knew that there
really wasn't going to be anything really to talk about within these next few weeks because
this is the phase where a lot of teams, people in the front office, coaches and whatnot,
this is probably going to be the last time that they're going to be able to really spend
some time with family, friends, and do whatever little things that they need to do for their
personal life.
We were blindsided with the bag alert.
So with all bag alerts, we got to talk about it.
We have to talk about the bag alerts because why?
We value the bag alerts.
Always, always have, always will be.
Valuing the bag alerts.
So let's get into it.
So running back for the New England Patriots, Ramon Dre Stevenson, into a four year, $36
million extension.
$17 million is guaranteed, he'll be making $9 million a year according to SpotWrap.
Shout out to SpotWrap.
Now let's look at these stats.
So we look at these stats.
According to ESPN, and this is just strictly last season, he had 156 rushing attempts, 619
yards, four touchdowns, and he averaged four yards a carry.
Cool.
Let's go a little bit deeper and look more into the analytical side of these stats.
So according to pro football reference, he had 13 rushing attempts per game, 49.4% rushing
success rate.
He had 51 receiving receptions and he had 6.3 receiving yards per reception.
Also I forgot this one, I left this one out.
He had 74.5% catching percentage.
And that was strictly for last season.
When you look at Ramon Dre Stevenson, Ramon Dre Stevenson is in a situation where if we're
being real, he probably could have hit free agency, but who was to say he would have been
offered a contract that is similar to what the Patriots are offering.
One can basically say at this point that he is their best running back.
Let's face it, folks.
There are certain teams in the league who they value certain positions more than others.
There are some teams who they value receivers more.
They're running backs.
There are some teams that value running backs over tight ends.
It just really depends on what team it is.
And this probably opens up to a more broader conversation as a whole.
When Ramon Dre Stevenson getting paid, the money that he get paid, when you first look
at the numbers, you're probably thinking, oh man, that's a crazy deal.
But when you really break it down, he's not making a whole lot of money.
He's only making 9 million a year, which I mean, you know, that's still pretty good
money, but you would think by now at this point with the league making as much money
as they're making that the running back market would sort of catch up just a little bit.
Not a whole lot, but just a little bit.
And clearly it hasn't in its shows because when you look at it, for instance, you know,
the receiver market blew up over, you know, this off season.
The offensive line market blew up just a little bit, not a whole lot, but just a little bit.
But I think it's going to blow up, you know, probably next year.
Probably, I don't know.
I'm just a GM.
We'll figure that out.
But that's another that's going to be that's going to be episode in itself.
Okay.
I'm giving you heads up right now.
There's going to be one episode is going to be dedicated to all, you know, future predictions
for certain positions and whatnot.
That's going to be a few episodes.
I don't know if it's going to be the next one.
I don't know if people figure it out now back to the running backs.
Okay.
Um, running backs, you know, as a whole, even when you look at their franchise tag, it's
not even worth a whole lot of money.
Like everybody else's franchise tag has gone up, you know, substantially to a good amount.
You know, some, some franchise tags, you know, numbers are a little bit more than others,
but everyone's has gone up just a little bit.
And you know, what you're seeing is, you know, the league will not really the league, but
GM's as a whole, you know, continue to say that, you know, they quote unquote air quotes,
big air quotes that they don't value the running back market.
Even though that is a lie, you know, when you look at the recent, you know, running
back signings, you look at Christian McCaffrey's deal, you got to look at Seyquan's deal.
You got to look at Jonathan Taylor's deal.
There are teams that are still willing to be the outliers and pay the running back market.
Now are they going to pay them, you know, a boatload of money?
No, but is it going to be a substantial amount of money for running back?
Yes, it is.
Right.
And so, you know, in this before, okay, you know what this will do.
Before we can talk about the present, we have to talk about the past, right?
Because sometimes the past can, you know, answer the questions of the present and the
future.
Right.
That's a good quote right there.
I'm going to keep that in my back pocket.
When you look at past running back contracts, right?
The main three contracts that everybody talks about and they even do it for me every single
time I'm running back, it's sign is Levy on bells, Todd Gurley's and Zeke's.
Right.
Those three, those three, those three contracts are contracts that were just completely bad,
you know, from the moment that they were announced in the moment that they were signed, they
just bad contracts and we're going to talk about it right now.
So we look at Levy on's deal when he signed with the jets, right?
He inked a four year, 52 million dollar deal, you know, at that time that was a lot of money.
And so he got a $8 million signing bonus.
He was guaranteed $27 million at signing.
He had $27 million of total guarantees and he was making $13.2 million a year.
Right.
When you look at Todd Gurley's deal when he was with, you know, when he was still with
the Rams, he ain't a four year, 57.5 million dollar deal, a $21 million signing bonus, $21.9
million was guaranteed at signing $45 million in total guarantees and he was making $14.3
million a year.
Right.
He had Zeke's.
Now the only thing with Zeke's, it's a little bit weird because he was still on his rookie
deal and I think he still had, I think two years left on his deal, on his rookie deal
before, you know, they could start doing any of those things, but that's another story
for another day.
Right.
With his deal, six years, $90 million, $7.5 million signing bonus, $28 million guarantee
that signing $50 million in total guarantees and he was making $15 million a year.
Now, when you look at those numbers, those are some pretty crazy numbers at that time,
you know, for running max because at that time, the league was still paying, you know,
those type of running backs a high amount of money because you had, you know, these,
these three running backs who their skill set was just amazing and every single time
that they got the ball, it just seemed like they always made magic, especially with Levy
on and talker.
Right.
And so, you know, they definitely fought tooth and nail for their deals and they finally
got them.
But the problem is, is that when they got the deals in some ways, it messed up the running
back market because for that period from, from the time that they got those deals up
until now, there wasn't a lot of running backs that were getting paid, you know, cuckoo
for cocoa puffs type of money.
They weren't, they were getting, you know, dined and nickeled a little bit.
They were getting, you know, the seven or eight million dollars a year, which I mean,
that still is good money.
However, you know, when you look at all the other positions, you know, on a team, both
offensively and defensively running backs is probably the, the one position where they
not really making a whole lot of money, you know, and it also doesn't help that their
shelf life is not as long as a receiver, a tight end, an offense alignment, a quarterback,
a corner, a detackle.
It's not a majority of their prime years is used up where in college.
So by the time that they get into the league, they got so much wear and tear on their bodies
that it's just like, oh, I don't know.
I don't know if we can give them a second deal.
I don't know if we want to give them a third deal.
Now of course there are running backs, you know, that are outliers in those situations,
but for the majority, a lot of running backs don't see a third or fourth contract.
It's rare.
It's very rare.
The first thing I could think of right now, who was still getting contracts, you know,
even as he got older was Adrian Peterson, right?
Because even though Adrian Peterson didn't have, you know, that sort of explosive speed
that he used to have when he was younger, guess what?
He still had that power.
He could still run up the middle, truck you over, run you over, run two or three people
over and get you a first down and more, right?
Now what you see is, you know, someone like a Christian McCaffrey, I wouldn't be surprised
if this is, if he gets maybe one more extension.
I wouldn't be surprised just because of he can, you know, double as a slot receiver and
he's also receiving back.
I wouldn't be surprised.
I just wouldn't.
And so, you know, what you see is teams, you know, are going to fight a little bit harder
when it comes to giving, you know, extensions.
They're going to do that.
Okay.
Case in point with Alvin Camero right now.
He's, he's in, he's not, I wouldn't say he's holding out, but you know, he wants more money
because why?
He's, you know, one of the best running backs in the league right now.
He is and he plays a very pivotal role on that Saints offense.
It's not the receivers.
It's not Taysom Hill.
It's Alvin Camero.
Okay.
Without Alvin Camero, that offense does not run the right way.
It just doesn't.
And so he feels like he wants to be compensated.
Just how, you know, like Christian McCaffrey got compensated.
Now, do I think he will get anything close to what Christian McCaffrey got?
Possibly.
It may not be 19, but I wouldn't be surprised if he get maybe, you know, 18.5, 18.9 or they'll
try to, they're not going to get to 19, but they're going to try to get as close as they
can to 19, right?
And so, you know, I say all that to say this, right?
Now, you know, going, you know, full circle and everything, when you look at those past
contracts, those were, those were, you know, really bad.
But when you look at the recent contracts, you know, for running backs, look at Christian
McCaffrey's deal, right?
He ain't a two year, 38 million dollar extension with the Niners, 14.2 million dollar signing
bonus, 24 million guaranteed at signing 24 million in total guarantees, he's making
19 million a year, right?
We look at Saquon when he signed with the Eagles, right?
He ain't a three year, 37.7 million dollar deal, right?
11.6 million dollar signing bonus, 26 million guaranteed at signing 26 million in total
guarantees, 12.5 million a year.
When you look at Jonathan Taylor's extension to stay with the Colts, right?
Three years, 42 million dollars, 10.2 million dollar signing bonus, 19.3 million guaranteed
at signing 26.5 million in total guarantees, 14 million a year, right?
Those three, those three running backs alone are what you would classify as the outliers
of the running back market because of their skillset and how much of a pivotal role that
they play on that offense, right?
And so, you know, when you have those type of players, of course they're going to demand
a lot of money.
But when you look at, you know, the free agency running back market next year, right?
For instance, you have James Conner, Aaron Jones and Nick Chubb just to name a few, right?
When you look at their deals that they got recently, James Conner, three years, 21 million,
six million dollar signing bonus, 13.5 million guaranteed at signing, seven million a year.
I mean, look at Aaron Jones' deal when he signed with the Vikings one year, seven million
dollars, right?
Four million dollar signing bonus, seven million guaranteed at signing, seven million a year.
Nick Chubb, that situation is a little bit more unique in itself because that was sort
of a restructure simply because they wanted to get some money back, you know, with the
injury that he had last season and whatnot.
That's a weird situation in itself as well.
His was a one year, two point two million dollar quote unquote extension, nine hundred
twenty five million, nine hundred twenty five thousand dollar signing bonus, nine hundred
twenty five guaranteed at signing two point twenty seven million a year, right?
So there's tears, there's levels to this thing, right?
You have your, you know, you have the big fish, Christian McCaffrey, Seguin Barclays,
Jonathan Taylor's, you know, Alvin Cameras of the world, then you have the Nick Chubbs,
the Aaron Jones, the James Cones of the world, and then you have, you know, everybody else,
right?
If we're being real here, if we're really, really, really, really being real here, the
running back market in my mind is probably not going, well, no, it probably will.
It is probably going to crest that 20, that 20 million mark.
There is going to be a team that they're going to be so desperate in landing a certain type
of running back that they will be willing, willing to hit that 20 million dollar mark.
Now do I know who the running back is?
Do I know who the team is?
No, I don't because I don't have a crystal ball right in front of me, but I can guarantee
you this.
If Christian McCaffrey still wants to play and he is still playing at an elite level
two years from now, I guarantee you he will hit that 20 dollar mark.
I guarantee you it's either going to be him, Alvin Camara, or is there anybody else I can
think of?
Anybody else?
No, I think those are probably the only two right now that I could think of that can, you
know, hit that mark.
And even then, you know, when we look at this thing a little bit deeper, right?
When you look at the majority of playoff teams, what do they all have in common?
I'll let you think about it for a second.
Better yet, I'll just give you the answer.
They all value the running back.
Now, some of the teams value the running back position a little bit more than others, but
they all value the running back in some position.
I mean, in some way, right?
You look at the 49ers, Christian McCaffrey, you look at the Dolphins, they got Raheem
Mostard, David N'Chain, and they just drafted somebody else.
We look at the Eagles, they got Saquon.
When you look at the Ravens, they got, you know, Derek Henry, and then they also have
Keaton Mitchell and whatnot.
When you look at the Chiefs, they still have Isaiah Pacheco, and I think they have Clyde
Elmer-Teller as well.
So you cannot tell me at this point, at this juncture, that teams do not value the running
back as a whole.
You cannot tell me.
When the Super Bowl teams have a, you know, above average to an elite running back on
their team, you just can't tell me that.
Now there are some, you know, some playoff teams that have the one-two punch, you know,
combination with running backs, and then there's, you know, then there's some who, they don't
need that.
They have, you know, the primary back, you know, they have the guy, you know, at the
running back position.
But, you know, I say all that to say this, and I'll probably just end it right here.
I didn't want to really, you know, stretch this thing out, you know, too long dealing
and make a long and drawn out episode that just doesn't make any sense.
But I will say this, you know, and this will be my final statement.
The running back market has to get properly compensated for the things that they do weekend
and week out.
You cannot tell me, nor can you show me a team or a highlight where basically there's
not the running back doing something crazy.
They're not, you know, going off for 30 yards untouched or a crazy juke move or they make,
you know, the game winning touchdown or something like that.
You can't tell me that.
You can't.
And it shows with history in the NFL.
Some of the greatest football players that we all know and love are what running backs
Barry Sanders, the Damian Thomas, Adrian Peterson, Jerome Betis, right?
Emmett Smith, all of those guys, Walter Payton, right?
There is a clear cut, you know, path that shows that the running back market is very
influential in the league.
It's just you have GMs who are, you know, I wouldn't say cheap, but they just value
certain positions more than others.
And you know, the league cycle, as I call it, are in a phase where you have to have
the, you have to have the receiver.
If you don't have the number one receiver and if you don't have a, you know, a crazy
skilled quarterback and you don't have nothing, but you're going to see that phase start to
wane off a little bit, especially with this upcoming draft where it's going to be defensive
driven.
Teams are going to want to value running backs more, right?
So we'll leave it right there.
That's going to be a bigger topic for another time.
Thank you guys so much for listening to this quick little episode of football's junkies
podcast.
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I have to go back into the lab to look at more film to research more things so I can
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All right.
I love you guys.
I'm out.
Bye.