O.J. Simpson tweeted a video expressing his support for modern-day running backs, but also stating his discontent with how the league treats them.
Running backs can’t be blamed for feeling as if they are being treated less than as teams have exercised fiscal restraint in free agency. None of the three running backs (Saquon Barkley-Giants, Josh Jacobs-Raiders, and Tony Pollard-Cowboys) designated as franchise players for $10.091 million have signed long-term deals.
Jacobs suggested he is taking a stand for future running backs in his contract dispute with the Raiders. Barkley didn’t dismiss sitting out the season while Tony Pollard is not expected to get a long-term deal this offseason.
Legendary NFL running back O.J. Simpson, who was charged in the 1994 murders of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, and was acquitted in a televised and widely-watched criminal trial, posted his thoughts on his Twitter account.
“Running backs deserve better,” he tweeted.
The number of running backs making at least $12 million per year has dwindled as they were eight just last year, but now that number is at five.
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Pollard rushed for a career-high 1,007 yards and nine touchdowns while adding 371 yards and three scores on 39 receptions.
Barkley had 1,312 rushing yards, 338 receiving yards, and 10 total touchdowns last season. It was the first time he stayed healthy for the entire season since his rookie year in 2018.
Last year, Jacobs tallied 1,653 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground for the Raiders. He also totaled 400 yards on 53 receptions.
For Simpson, he may have escaped a murder conviction, but he was convicted in 2008 and served nine years in prison for leading five men, including two with guns, in a September 2007 confrontation with two sports collectibles dealers at a Las Vegas casino hotel. He was granted parole in 2017 and was released from parole in 2021.
