Saquon Barkley is carrying the hopes and dreams of New York Giants fans on his back. Barkley was selected number two overall in this year's NFL draft. His rookie year will be a lucrative one, as ESPN reports that Barkley signed a four-year, $31.2 million rookie contract on Sunday (July 22). All first round rookie contracts are guaranteed. The deal features an immediate payout of $15 million, a hefty perk that was negotiated by Roc Nation agent Kim Miale.
Based on the contract, Barkley is now one of the top-paid running backs in the league with an average of nearly $8 million per season. Le'Veon Bell, Devonta Freeman, and LeSean McCoy are the only running backs who average more. Along with endorsement deals, Barkley will be bringing home a cool $21 million this year, making him the highest paid running back for the 2018 season (so far). The 21-year-old rookie is thinking smart, and has already revealed that he will be following in Marshawn Lynch's footsteps by only spending his endorsement money. "Once I realized when I declared for the NFL draft and kind of realized where I was going to be drafted, that was something I was like, 'You know what? Kind of want to follow the Marshawn Lynch method," Barkey stated. "I don't want to touch that. I want to invest it, put it in the right peoples' hands and learn as I continue to make investments. And just live off the endorsement deals.'"