What a Bijan Robinson Contract Extension Could Look Like for Falcons
What a Bijan Robinson Contract Extension Could Look Like for Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons have been busy signing their young stars to contract extensions, and Bijan Robinson appears to be next in line. Scott Kennedy|
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Atlanta FalconsThe Atlanta Falcons signed wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. to lucrative contract extensions this month. Both players were scheduled to be free agents following the 2026 season, but new general manager Ian Cunningham made sure that didn't happen.
Despite having two years left on his rookie deal, multiple reports indicate star running back Bijan Robinson is next in line this summer for a new deal. Typically, teams get extensions done for first-round picks after their fourth season in the league, before the fifth-year option kicks in.
Getting an extension for Robinson this summer would jump the queue a bit, an indication of his importance to the team and keeping their All-Pro happy.
Still just 24 years old, what could an extension for Robinson look like?
The Market
The two highest-paid running backs on average for the 2026 season are currently Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles and Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers at $20.6 million and $19 million, respectively.
Robinson is going to smash through those numbers. He led the NFL in scrimmage yards with 2,298 last year and accounted for 48.2% of the Falcons' total yards.
He has age on his side as well. The 49ers were comfortable with McCaffrey's extension despite him being 28 when he received it. Barkley was also 28 last May when he signed his two-year, $41.2 million extension with the Eagles.
Durability is also in Robinson's favor through his first three seasons. He's started every game but one since he was drafted in 2023. Barkley missed four games in his first two seasons and only played two in his third after suffering a knee injury.
McCaffrey played in every game in 2025, but he missed 13 games in 2024, 10 games in 2021, and 13 games in 202 with a variety of injuries.
The Money
Former general manager Terry Fontenot was widely criticized for taking a non-premium position with the No. 8 pick in 2023, Robinson has been considered a hit since his selection.
He's the face of the Atlanta Falcons, regarded as their most popular and important player. He's going to be paid like it.
Robinson will get a contract in the neighborhood of $25 million per year, and it will likely start in 2027 to replace his fifth-year option.
Now, the key isn't really the contract average; it's the total guaranteed money. A four-year contract for $100 million with $50 million guaranteed is really a two-year contract with club options included for salary cap reasons.
Running backs rarely get more than two years of guaranteed money on second contracts because of the nature of their position. The fall-off as they get wear and tear on their bodies can be drastic (see Devonta Freeman/Todd Gurley).
However, more recently, there seem to be more exceptions to that rule. McCaffrey, Barkley, and Derrick Henry immediately come to mind. All three players have been exceedingly productive as they hit their late 20s, or even 30s, like Henry.
Bijan Robinson feels like one of those exceptions. Robinson will probably get three years of guaranteed money on his extension.
Four years at $100 million with $75 million guaranteed would lock him up for the 2027, 2028, and 2029 seasons and push him to still be just 27 years old at the end of his guaranteed money. It will easily be the most guaranteed money ever given to a running back.
The Salary Cap
While $25 million will be a record for a running back, relatively speaking, it's not a lot of money as the salary cap will continue to grow. Currently, 16 quarterbacks make more than $25 million per year, and the Class of 2024 will add to that number significantly when Drake Maye, Caleb Williams, and Bo Nix come up for extensions (with Michael Penix Jr. pending). 18 wide receivers make at least $25 million.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank has the cash to help Cunningham manipulate the salary cap with signing bonuses, extensions, and void years. For example, Drake London just got a four-year, $141 million ($100 million guaranteed) extension, and his cap number for 2026 is only $8 million, according to Over the Cap.
His signing bonus is spread across four years of the contract, and they're paying him a minimum base salary while guaranteeing more of his salary in later years. The void years are prime to be replaced by restructures as the Falcons use London's youth to their advantage and extend his guaranteed money one year at a time.
Robinson's fifth-year option is due to have an $11.3 million cap hit in 2027. Odds are, it will actually be lower than that.
The Franchise
The fact that the Falcons are willing to tear up the fifth-year option and take the franchise tag off the table is an indication of how they feel about Robinson. Blank has never had trouble taking care of his star players when it comes to salary. Investing so heavily in a running back can be risky, but it's a risk that has paid off so far.
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Published 28 minutes ago
SCOTT KENNEDYScott is an Atlanta-based sports media professional with stints as Director of Scouting of Scout.com, VP of Content Production at Sports Illustrated, and Managing Editor at CBS Interactive / 247 Sports, among others.
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
