Giants Sign Saquon Barkley

The Giants have signed first-round running back Saquon Barkley, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Barkley, the second overall pick in the 2018 draft, will receive a fully guaranteed four-year deal worth $31.2MM, per Rapoport. The pact also contains a $20.76MM signing bonus, $15MM of which he’ll receive immediately. The remainder of Barkley’s bonus will be paid out by October.

With Barkley under contract, only 10 2018 draft selections remain unsigned, and the majority of those players are first-rounders. Reports earlier this year indicated offset language was the primary driver in first-round pick negotiations. Thanks to the slotting system for rookie deals, and the fact that first-round picks are nearly always guaranteed the entirety of their deals, offset language is the only area left for haggling.

Offset language does exist in Barkley’s deal, tweets Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. That means Barkley won’t be allowed to “double-dip” — i.e. collect extra salary from a new team — in the event that he’s released during the next four seasons. Obviously, the Giants are hoping that a Barkley release will not occur over the life of his contract, but the club has protected itself nevertheless.

New York chose Barkley near the top of the first round instead of picking a potential franchise quarterback, a decision that could be analyzed for years to come. But Barkley figures to be one of the primary pieces of the Giants’ offense in 2018, as he’ll run behind a revamped offensive line that includes free agent acquisition Nate Solder at tackle and second-rounder Will Hernandez at guard.