NFL Free Agency: 5 RBs with maximum guarantees ft. Saquon Barkley, D'Andre Swift

As has been seen in the free agency market, there's sufficient room for significant deals for RBs who are the cornerstones of their teams' attacks, even though the market value of NFL running backs has decreased over the years.

This free agency window has seen seven former Pro Bowl running backs heading to different organizations, the most in any NFL offseason, per ESPN. Some of the RBs to negotiate multi-year contracts with new organizations are Josh Jacobs, Austin Ekeler, Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley. We will examine which of them has the largest contract earnings.

Although there are several ways to identify the highest-paid running backs in the NFL, we will focus on the players who will earn the most guaranteed money in their signed contracts this offseason. All data is as per Spotrac.

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Five NFL running backs to have earned the biggest guarantees in free agency

#1 Tony Pollard - Tennessee Titans

Derrick Henry, who recently signed with the Baltimore Ravens, has been replaced by the Tennessee Titans with Tony Pollard.

Pollard's contract was first stated to be valued at $24 million over three years, but according to Spotrac, the actual value is $21.75 million, with an annual average salary of $7.25 million. There is additionally $10.94 million in guaranteed funds in the contract.

Pollard played all 17 games for the Dallas Cowboys in 2023, starting all of them. He ran for 1,005 yards and six touchdowns and caught 55 passes for 311 yards.

#2 Josh Jacobs - Green Bay Packers

Jacobs was signed by the Green Bay Packers to a four-year, $48 million contract at the start of free agency, which has put him sixth in the league in terms of average annual salary for running backs.

The signing bonus of $12.5 million included in the deal is completely guaranteed. For cap reasons, the sum is divided evenly over the course of his four-year contract.

Jacobs led the league with 1,653 rushing yards in 2022. However, a quad injury kept him out of the last four games of the 2023 season, and he finished with 805 yards of total rushing.

#3 Joe Mixon - Houston Texans

Mixon and the Houston Texans reached an agreement on a $27 million, three-year contract last week. It's reported that $13 million guaranteed money is part of the agreement.

The 27-year-old running back, who spent seven years with the Cincinnati Bengals, was dealt to the Texans on Tuesday following initial reports that the team intended to release him.

Joe Mixon ran for 1,034 yards and nine scores with the Bengals in 2023.

#4 D'Andre Swift - Chicago Bears

A guaranteed $15.3 million is part of D'Andre Swift's $24 million, three-year contract with the Chicago Bears. Morever, a $4 million signing bonus and a $8 million average yearly salary are included in the agreement.

The 25-year-old running back had a fantastic season last year, setting a personal record with 1,049 rushing yards. He also added 39 receptions for 214 yards and six touchdowns overall, earning him a spot in the Pro Bowl for the first time.

#5 Saquon Barkley - Philadelphia Eagles

Barkley has signed a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, of which $26 million was due at signing. His new average yearly salary of $15.58 million puts him in fourth place among running backs in the NFL.

According to reports, Barkley's lucrative NFL contract has a $26 million guarantee apart from a $11.6 million signing bonus. The 27-year-old running back has featured in 74 games in six seasons in the NFL, all with the New York Giants.

He has racked up 1,201 rushes for 5,211 yards and 35 touchdowns. He has also recorded 12 touchdowns and 2,100 yards from 288 receptions.