The Atlanta Falcons have been spending a lot of money this offseason. Yet, they still haven’t secured arguably their top player in Bijan Robinson.
First, it was wide receiver Drake London, who Atlanta gave a four-year, $141 million extension. Then it was tight end Kyle Pitts signing a three-year, $54 million deal after previously signing a franchise tag for the 2026 season.
Now, everyone is patiently waiting on new general manager Ian Cunningham to sign Robinson to a long-term deal.
If and when that happens, expect it to be a history-making deal, according to CBS Sports’ Joel Corry.
Bijan Robinson Could Reset Running Back Market With Contract Extension
Corry, a former sports agent, explained how it’s not only Robinson but Detroit Lions star Jahmyr Gibbs who will look to completely turn the running back market on its head.
“Gibbs and Robinson should be looking to become the NFL’s first $25 million-per-year running backs, which would represent a dramatic market increase,” Corry wrote. “Getting to that mark would be 21.36% more than (Saquon) Barkley’s $20.6 million per year.”
However, Corry notes that the Lions are much more proactive in offering contract extensions to their former first-round picks than the Falcons.
“Typically, the Falcons give first-round picks new deals after their fourth NFL season,” Corry wrote. “That’s what happened in recent seasons with guard Chris Lindstrom, cornerback A.J. Terrell and wide receiver Drake London. Kyle Pitts, 2021’s fifth overall pick, played out his five-year rookie contract and was designated a franchise player in February before signing a deal making him the NFL’s third-highest-paid tight end at $17.7 million per year in June.”
Robinson will be entering his fourth NFL season in 2026, set to make a base salary of $1.145 million. He will have a club option in 2027 worth $11.323 million should the Falcons go that route first.
Falcons Could Benefit From Acting Before Lions
It may be wise for the Falcons to go ahead and make the offer soon before the Lions make an offer to Gibbs. Whichever one is signed second will likely earn the larger deal. That’s typically how it works.
Nevertheless, both players have an argument to be the highest-paid running backs in the NFL. And how they could negotiate that is by using comparative analysis to those in similar situations previously.
Both have two years left on their rookie deals, which is similar to how former first-rounders Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliott and Christian McCaffrey ended up becoming the highest-paid players at their position in the league at the time under the old CBA.
“Gurley got $14.375 million per year, Elliott $15 million per and McCaffrey $16 million per on deals that were struck eight, seven and six years ago, respectively, at times when the salary cap was between $180 million and $200 million. It’s now over $300 million,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wrote.
It’s safe to say both the Falcons and Lions have been trying to figure out just how they’re going to handle their star players’ contract situations. This is probably something that’s been on their minds as early as last year, if not before. So, it’s not as if they’re sitting there idle. They may just be trying to crunch the numbers.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Falcons Could Have $25 Million Bijan Robinson Problem Brewing appeared first on HEAVY.