It wasn’t long ago that running backs were in crisis in the NFL.<\/p>\n
After Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley failed to land long-term deals and were forced to play the 2023 season on the franchise tag, running backs held a position-wide Zoom call to discuss what they could do to get teams to recognize their value once again.<\/p>\n
Then, Barkley rushed for more than 2,000 yards on his way to a championship with the Eagles<\/a>. He became the first running back to break the $20 million-per-year barrier, setting a new standard for the position.<\/p>\n The door opened by Barkley has since been surpassed by Jonathan Taylor, Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, who can credit both the Eagles star and Cardinals<\/a> rookie Jeremiyah Love for setting the bar high with their contracts.<\/p>\n Here’s a look at the NFL’s highest-paid running backs and how Love set a new standard for guaranteed money before even playing an NFL snap.<\/p>\n MORE: The NFL’s 25 highest-paid players in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n NFL highest-paid running backs<\/p>\n When training camps began in 2026, only one running back had a contract worth more than $20 million annually: Saquon Barkley.<\/p>\n Since then, three more running backs have joined the club, completely redefining running back contracts. Bijan Robinson set a new high-water mark at $22.25 million per year, Jonathan Taylor signed a short-term extension at $22 million per year and now Jahmyr Gibbs has broken the record again.<\/p>\n Here are the 10 highest-paid running backs in the NFL:<\/p>\n RankPlayerAverage salaryTeam1Jahmyr Gibbs$22.5 millionLions2Bijan Robinson$22.25 millionFalcons3Jonathan Taylor$22 millionColts4Saquon Barkley$20.6 millionEagles5Christian McCaffrey$19 million49ers6De’Von Achane$16 millionDolphins7Derrick Henry$15 millionRavens8Breece Hall$14.5 millionJets9Kenneth Walker III$14.35 millionChiefs10Jeremiyah Love$13.26\u00a0millionCardinals1. Jahmyr Gibbs, LionsAnnual salary:\u00a0$22.5 million<\/p>\n After Robinson set a new high-water mark, Gibbs broke it with an extension of his own days later, ending a “hold-in” that kept him off the practice field for the Lions<\/a>. Gibbs was drafted higher than some expected when Detroit took him at No. 12 overall in 2023, but he justified the pick by proving to be a dynamic runner and pass-catcher out of the Lions’ backfield from day one.<\/p>\n 2. Bijan Robinson, FalconsAnnual salary: $22.25 million<\/p>\n Robinson became the second running back in NFL history to reach the $20 million-per-year mark, cruising past Barkley’s record with a three-year, $66.75 million deal that pays him $22.25 million annually. Robinson, the No. 8 pick of the 2023 draft, totaled nearly 2,300 scrimmage yards for the Falcons<\/a> in 2025.<\/p>\n 3. Jonathan Taylor, ColtsAnnual salary: $22 million<\/p>\n Contract negotiations led to a trade request and extended holdout for Taylor in 2023, but they went much smoother in 2026 when the Colts<\/a> star quietly signed a two-year, $44 million extension that represents an $8 million raise from his current deal. Taylor rushed for nearly 1,600 yards in 2025 and has a chance to become the Colts’ all-time leading rusher as early as 2026.<\/p>\n 4. Saquon Barkley, EaglesAnnual salary: $20.6 million<\/p>\n A running back wouldn’t ordinarily receive an extension just a year after signing a lucrative deal, but Barkley’s 2,005-yard rushing season in 2024 was so dominant that the then-champion Eagles rewarded him with a record-setting deal. Barkley’s $20.6 million annual salary has since been surpassed by Gibbs, Robinson and Taylor, but he set the high-water mark more than a year before their deals.<\/p>\n 5. Christian McCaffrey, 49ersAnnual salary: $19 million<\/p>\n Fresh off an Offensive Player of the Year season, McCaffrey agreed to a two-year, $38 million extension with the 49ers<\/a> to make him the NFL’s highest-paid running back at the time. Now 30 years old, McCaffrey managed to stay healthy for nearly the entire 2025 season and was both the 49ers’ leading rusher and receiver.\u00a0<\/p>\n MORE: The NFL’s highest-paid players on defense in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n 6. De’Von Achane, DolphinsAnnual salary: $16 million<\/p>\n The Dolphins<\/a> might have gotten themselves a bargain when they signed De’Von Achane to a four-year, $64 million extension ahead of the Robinson, Taylor and Gibbs deals. The dynamic former Texas A&M star exploded for 1,838 scrimmage yards in 2025, and he’s set to be the focal point of a run-heavy Miami offense in 2026 and beyond.<\/p>\n 7. Derrick Henry, RavensAnnual salary: $15 million<\/p>\n The Ravens<\/a> only paid Henry $8 million per year on the two-year deal he signed in 2024, and that quickly proved to be a massive bargain when he ran for more than 1,900 yards in his first season in Baltimore. The future Hall of Famer signed an extension in 2025 that pays him $15 million annually, the highest mark of his great career.<\/p>\n 8. Breece Hall, JetsAnnual salary: $14.5 million<\/p>\n Hall’s future in New York was at the center of speculation throughout 2025, but a strong season in an otherwise broken offense convinced the Jets<\/a> to use their franchise tag on the former second-round pick. After negotiations lasted into May, the two sides agreed to a three-yea, $43.5 million extension through 2028.<\/p>\n 9. Kenneth Walker III, ChiefsAnnual salary: $14.35 million<\/p>\n