Colts owner Jim Irsay takes shot at 'bad faith' RB complaints with Jonathan Taylor talks looming
Taylor's agent didn't take long to fire back.
NFL running backs are fed up.
Jim Irsay doesn't want to hear it.
The Indianapolis Colts owner delivered a candid social media retort Wednesday to running back protests that they aren't getting paid their due. In short, he told them to take it up with their union. He did so as contract talks with All-Pro Colts running back Jonathan Taylor loom.
NFL Running Back situation- We have negotiated a CBA,that took years of effort and hard work and compromise in good faith by both sides..to say now that a specific Player category wants another negotiation after the fact,is inappropriate. Some Agents are selling ‘bad faith’..
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) July 26, 2023
"NFL Running Back situation — We have negotiated a CBA, that took years of effort and hard work and compromise in good faith by both sides," Irsay wrote. "To say now that a specific player category wants another negotiation after the fact, is inappropriate. Some agents are selling 'bad faith.'"
It didn't take long for Taylor's agent Malki Kawa to fire back.
Bad faith is not paying your top offensive player https://t.co/ZYvrLhxygG
— malki kawa (@malkikawa) July 27, 2023
Running back pay has been the NFL story of the summer. All-Pros Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs both ended the offseason under the franchise tag after failing to procure long-term deals with guaranteed money. Both threatened to hold out.
Barkley eventually relented and agreed to a one-year, $11 million deal that looks an awful lot like the franchise tag tender he refused to sign. Jacobs — the reigning NFL rushing champion — remains a holdout with Raiders training camp underway.
The lack of long-term deals prompted a who's who of NFL running backs, including Derrick Henry and Christian McCaffrey to publicly lament the long-term financial security of the position as Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard also failed to secure a long-term deal.
"This is Criminal," McCaffrey wrote on social media last week after a deadline to secure long-term contracts passed. "Three of the best PLAYERS in the entire league, regardless of position."
Taylor, who led the league in rushing in 2021, joined the chorus of disgruntled backs.
1. If you’re good enough, they’ll find you.
2. If you work hard enough, you’ll succeed.
…If you succeed…
3. You boost the Organization
…and then…
Doesn’t matter, you’re a RB https://t.co/mG6In1ATGg— Jonathan Taylor (@JayT23) July 17, 2023
He also reportedly joined an ensuing Zoom meeting of top backs to discuss how to improve their financial standing under a collective bargaining agreement that was ratified in 2020 and runs through 2030.
Taylor's a year away from the position that Jacobs and Barkley were in this summer. He's slated to play the 2023 season on the final year of his rookie contract. Without a long-term deal, he'll enter next offseason as an unrestricted free agent or, more likely, under the franchise tag. He obviously wants a long-term deal. Irsay doesn't sound interested in doing him any contract favors.
Meanwhile, Taylor's status for training camp remains unclear. He was a late addition to the Colts physically unable to perform list after undergoing offseason ankle surgery and isn't yet practicing. This remains a situation worth monitoring.
