NFL Running Back Market
Transcript
00:00 Cowboys and NFL legend Emmett Smith has talked about how the running back market is so frustrating
00:05 for him to watch.
00:07 We've seen this happen with Tony Pollard, Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs.
00:11 What do you make of the running back situation right now in the league?
00:14 I don't understand because the running backs are all bonding together and they're on a
00:18 text chain.
00:19 I'm not sure what it is they want.
00:21 I mean, besides money.
00:23 Contracts?
00:24 Yeah, money.
00:25 But how do you propose...
00:27 I do have a solution, by the way, but I haven't heard them propose it and I haven't heard
00:31 anybody propose it.
00:32 So running backs are underpaid, and they are.
00:35 Zach Martin's underpaid, too.
00:38 Kickers are underpaid.
00:40 Safeties don't get paid like cornerbacks.
00:43 Tight ends don't get paid like wide receivers.
00:46 What about Travis Kelsey?
00:47 Travis Kelsey, the franchise tag on a tight end is $13 million.
00:51 Franchise tag on a wide receiver next year is going to be $23 million.
00:55 Well that's not fair.
00:59 The solution, number one, is to quit saying that it's a conspiracy against running backs.
01:03 It's not a conspiracy.
01:05 I simply, I don't need, I need gas and I need milk and I've decided I don't need bread.
01:10 I'm going to spend my money on gas and milk.
01:12 I don't know why that's so hard for people to understand.
01:14 So you feel like teams don't need a strong running back in order to succeed late into
01:18 the playoffs?
01:19 The Kansas City Chiefs are proving that you don't.
01:22 They take some guy named Pacheco in the seventh round and he's their guy.
01:28 They take some other speedy guy off the scrap heap, throw him a jersey and he's their guy.
01:32 They also have this guy named Patrick Mahomes.
01:35 That's right.
01:37 And Patrick Mahomes helps make a lot of things.
01:40 Put band-aids on a lot of things.
01:42 That's an outstanding point.
01:44 But there's not an anti-running back conspiracy anymore.
01:47 There's an anti-kicker conspiracy.
01:49 You know who should make more money is me.
01:51 But there's not a conspiracy against me.
01:53 You're going to start it though.
01:55 The market is the market.
01:58 I saw Austin Eckler go on social media and I commented back.
02:02 I hope I didn't speak out of school.
02:04 He said, "Well, it's an artificial devaluation of..."
02:08 And I'm like, there's no such thing as an artificial devaluation.
02:12 It's a devaluation.
02:14 You can't call your stockbroker tomorrow morning, well you know plenty about this, and say,
02:18 "Hey, my stocks are down."
02:20 That's an artificial devaluation.
02:21 I demand my money.
02:23 That's not how investments work.
02:24 And that's not how investments in running backs work either.
02:27 The solution, and the NFL did this with offensive linemen where it's all one big bundle now.
02:37 Call it skill position.
02:39 And wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends are all in one bundle.
02:44 Skill position.
02:45 And I think it would all...
02:46 Now, the wide receiver number would go down a little bit.
02:49 But the tight end number would go up.
02:51 And the running back number would go up.
02:53 That's the solution.
02:54 So, dear running backs, why don't you quit texting each other, and why don't you call
02:58 the NFLPA, and tell the NFLPA, which has operated for decades now with an absence of brains,
03:04 balls, and brawn, tell them to do something about this and negotiate for next year with
03:09 the NFL.
03:11 That's the only way.
03:12 Griping about it on Twitter ain't gonna work.
03:14 [BLANK_AUDIO]