Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis Colts had been in a stalemate all throughout the NFL offseason. As he was facing a $10.7 million franchise tag, Taylor was frustrated by teams undervaluing their running backs. He was so fed up, in fact, that he requested a trade from the team. It didn’t help that Colts owner Jim Irsay said the NFL would go on even if Taylor ended up out of the league.
The standoff spilled into the NFL season, but that trade never happened, and the Colts have finally gotten their star running back to return to the team. Taylor and the Colts agreed to a three-year deal worth $42 million, with $26.5 million in guarantees. Irsay has changed his tune, too, saying Taylor “deserves this deal.”
The deal makes Taylor the third-highest-paid running back in the NFL in terms of both average annual value ($14 million) and guaranteed money. He’s behind only Christian McCaffrey (just over $16 million) and Alvin Kamara ($15 million) in AAV; he also trails McCaffrey ($38.1 million) and Kamara ($33.3 million) in total guarantees.
Yet, compared to quarterbacks, Taylor still seems undervalued.
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Assuming Taylor remains with the Colts for the next three years — or is traded to another team and finishes out his contract with that team — he’ll earn $42 million over that span. That’s less than nine quarterbacks will make per year with their deals.
Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow has the highest average annual value of any NFL player, making $55 million per year after signing a big deal just before this season began. Three other quarterbacks will make at least $50 million per season: Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert ($52.5 million), Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson ($52 million), and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts ($51 million). Aaron Rodgers was making about $50.2 million per year before signing with the New York Jets, but he restructured his deal once he arrived in New York.
Taylor’s entire contract is also worth less than the AAV of Russell Wilson ($48.5 million), Kyler Murray ($46.1 million), Deshaun Watson ($46 million), Patrick Mahomes ($45 million), and Josh Allen ($43 million).
It’s obvious quarterbacks are still a team’s top priority. However, Taylor is receiving a significant pay increase from what he was looking at before the season. Running backs tend to have shorter careers than most other positions, so securing $26.5 million in guaranteed money is a big move. Taylor isn’t a particularly strong receiver, either, but his impressive running is plenty valuable.
Sometimes you have to take a stand to prove your worth. For Taylor, it paid off nicely.
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