I would want to begin this post by informing everyone that the thoughts I will be sharing will not be very well-liked or endorsed by the majority. They concern whether the Pittsburgh Steelers should sign running back Najee Harris to a contract extension prior to the 2024 regular season commencing.
Since mandatory minicamp ended, Harris has gained a lot of attention. This is probably because of some remarks made by Steelers general manager Omar Khan regarding the running back in a recent radio interview, as well as the news that RB Rhamondre Stevenson of the New England Patriots recently had his contract extended, reportedly with an average base salary of $9 million.
I’m not one to regularly defend running backs because I think it’s a highly interchangeable position, but I do think the Steelers should give Harris a contract extension this summer that would bring his new average annual salary up to par with or slightly above Stevenson’s.
First off, Harris would have had two years remaining on his current contract if the Steelers had chosen to exercise his fifth-year option. Non-quarterbacks with more than a year remaining on their current contracts have a long history of not having their contracts renewed by the Steelers. What is the meaning of all this? In any case, the Steelers would have broken with tradition if Harris’ contract was eventually extended after they selected his fifth-year option.
In addition to defying tradition by taking a two-year gap, the Steelers would have prepared themselves for future players to exercise their fifth-year option by citing the Harris outcome and expecting their own contract extension during the same offseason that the decision was made. Does that makes sense ?
Only if the Steelers offer Harris a contract extension prior to the start of the regular season will my tinfoil hat idea about his choosing the fifth-year option come true. Furthermore, the new money average for a contract extension would need to be greater than the $6.79 million target for Harris’ fifth-year option in 2025. If it were not the case, my notion would effectively be dismissed as absurd and unfounded—not that I haven’t had a few of those over the years.
Now, why do I think Harris should agree to a longer contract than Stevenson before the regular season starts, one that has a higher average signing salary?
First off, throughout his first three NFL seasons, Harris more than equaled Stevenson in terms of total production, and he was mostly able to do so by playing in a terrible scheme under the direction of former offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Of those three seasons, the Steelers also started quarterback Kenny Pickett for almost two of them.
It’s quite remarkable that Harris has been able to rush for 1,000 yards three seasons in a row since joining the NFL. Harris is the only NFL player to have accomplished this accomplishment in the previous three seasons as well. In the past three seasons, just six other running backs have caught more passes than Harris, and only five other players have gained more yardage from the faceoff line. In addition, Harris has not missed an NFL game—a remarkable accomplishment in and of itself, given that he touched the ball 978 times during the regular season.
Harris has performed admirably in the run stat category since joining the NFL, despite the fact that he wasn’t among Alabama’s top run producers in terms of percentage. Over the last three seasons, only ten other running backs have scored more touchdowns than Harris, who has 15 runs of 20 yards or more to his credit. Over the previous three seasons, Stevenson, incidentally, has tallied eight of these runs.
Now, I’m not attempting to portray Harris as the next Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers, an utterly unreplaceable running back. He’s not even near it. With an average salary of $19 million, McCaffrey is the NFL’s highest-paid running back, and for good reason. Having said that, I believe Harris is worth at least half of what McCaffrey is currently making, which is about $9.5 million APY.
With an average salary of $12 million, Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs is the fifth-highest paid player in the NFL for his position. I believe Harris has set a high standard for himself to meet this summer. Nonetheless, Harris would still rank seventh among NFL running backs with a new APY of $9.5 million this summer, one position ahead of Stevenson and behind Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon. It seems like a fair ranking.
Let’s now examine Harris’ standing with the Steelers right now. Harris’ APY of $3,261,861 at the end of June ranks 17th on the Steelers, according Over the Cap. That puts him three spots behind OG Nate Herbig ($4,000,000) and two behind rookie OT Troy Fautanu ($3,763,824), who both played only 156 offensive snaps in 2023. That just seems wrong when you consider Harris’ performance in his first three NFL seasons.
Some people will undoubtedly say that since Harris signed a rookie contract, he should stick with him. Sincerely, from the standpoint of a fan, I get that position. I am also aware of the NFL’s market value for jobs, and I believe Harris is currently being paid much too little.
I am by no means saying that Harris ought to be among the top five NFL running backs in terms of salary this summer. I believe he made a mistake if he wants to get that high. But I think Harris would have a legitimate desire to rank somewhat higher than Stevenson and perhaps even Mixon. This is reflected in the proposed contract that I described last Friday, one week ago.which I believe is fair to both Harris and the Steelers.
READ MORE HERE