As highest-paid RB in NFL history, Christian McCaffrey is the clear face of the Panthers
Christian McCaffrey has agreed to a new deal to become the highest-paid running back in NFL history.
The Panthers are signing their star back to a four-year, $64 million extension, averaging $16 million a year, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation. McCaffrey, 23, is entering the fourth year of his rookie deal and is coming off a season when he became the the third player ever to record 1,000 receiving yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same year. Only Marshall Faulk and Roger Craig had previously reached that mark.
The two sides began negotiations at the NFL combine, one source said, and were able to come to an agreement before the NFL draft begins next week and avoid any potential holdout. It was made clear by McCaffrey during negotiations how important it was for him to remain a Panther, and Carolina also clearly wanted to get a long-term deal done. He will now be under contract until 2025, per a source, when he is 29-years old; he has two years remaining on his rookie deal that runs through 2021 with the fifth-year option.
This also means that the new deal should not kick in until the 2022 season, which gives the Panthers time to build at other positions before his extension has more significant cap implications and shows they will be hoping to be competitive when that four-year extension is scheduled to begin.
McCaffrey is now fully the face of the franchise as it enters a new era under head coach Matt Rhule with so many others moving on. He’ll continue to play a significant role in the Panthers’ offense that will look different in 2020 in coordinator Joe Brady’s scheme with quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
“I hired (offensive coordinator) Joe (Brady) because I know that he’s going to utilize guys to their strengths and so that’s what Christian is, and to label him, I feel that’s not respectful to him. I mean he’s a tailback/wideout, he can do it all, returner,” Rhule said last week. “I’m anxious to get him out there, I’m anxious to, you know, continue to build this thing around him. I think he’s going to be a special player for us.”
McCaffrey’s leadership role with the Panthers going forward was witnessed throughout the offseason as several new teammates signed in free agency said that McCaffrey was the first player to reach out to them. Wide receiver Robby Anderson even wore McCaffrey’s No. 22 jersey during his virtual press conference and called him the “best running back in the NFL.” He recently began a program, “22 and You,” in support of healthcare workers in the Carolinas and his hometown of Denver
He is unlike any other back to be up for a new contract in recent years as he is uniquely a threat in the receiving and rushing game, finishing 2019 with 1,005 receiving yards, second-most on the team behind DJ Moore. Last year McCaffrey also became the first running back to have two 100-catch seasons. He also finished third in scrimmage yards in a single season with 2,392 and broke his own record for receptions by a running back in 2019. He is the only player to ever amass 2,500 rushing yards and 2,500 receiving yards in his first three seasons.
Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys was previously the highest-paid running back in league history, signing a six-year, $90 million contract last offseason. McCaffrey will make $1 million more per year on the new deal than Elliott on an extension that is two years shorter.
Elliott was one of two running backs to hold out last year at the same point in their rookie contracts as McCaffrey was this offseason. Melvin Gordon also held out, including missing some of the regular season, before returning without a new deal. He became a free agent this offseason and agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with the Broncos.
The extension comes at a time when long-term running back contracts have been under more debate than ever before. The Rams released running back Todd Gurley last month after giving him a somewhat similar deal in 2018 — a four-year, $60 million contract extension with $45 million in guarantees. Gurley, 25, was released this offseason partly due to a knee problem that he developed in 2018. He recently signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Falcons.
Last week, general manager Marty Hurney acknowledged that there had been internal conversations about McCaffrey’s contract and that “everybody knows what we think of Christian as a player.”
There are always risks involved in contract extensions, especially for running backs. Few backs that have had 370-plus touches since 2007 have been able to replicate their production the following season. No one since 2006 has compiled consecutive seasons with 2,000-plus scrimmage yards. A running back has never had consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons.
There have been examples of bad experiences with giving prominent running backs extensions, including the Chiefs with Priest Holmes in 2003, who didn’t come close to his rushing dominance in the years after signing a four-year extension, and the Seahawks with Shaun Alexander, who signed an eight-year extension in 2006, but played for just three more years.
The gamble the Panthers are taking on McCaffrey is that he is not the average back, and that his unique performance with the high amount of workload last season despite Carolina’s 5-11 record can continue. There isn’t a player at McCaffrey’s age and usage that has had quite that level of production to dictate exactly what can be expected. Or the profile and role he is going to take on with the franchise moving forward. The team will hope to not put too much stress on his body, while also keeping him as one of the focal points of the new offense.
“I think Christian McCaffrey is a centerpiece player you can build a team around ... And I think he really builds for the culture that you want to have within the building,” Rhule said. “We want to be a serious football place, we want to be a place that it’s all about the game, and I think that’s who Christian McCaffrey is.”
This story was originally published April 13, 2020 at 4:25 PM.
