NFL fans react to Christian McCaffrey's $38,000,000 extension - "They aren’t paying Aiyuk lmfao," "Highly deserved"
Christian McCaffrey is proving to be the one man who is single-handedly bringing up the running back contract market after he signed a two-year $38 million extension with the San Francisco 49ers. The reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year has been a critical component for the NFC team's continued success over the past two seasons that has seen them reach two NFC Championships and one Super Bowl.
But with the league operating under a salary cap, any new contract for Christian McCaffrey could mean cuts elsewhere. With Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, other critical offensive players, also potentially looking for upgraded contracts, fans are openly wondering if all of them could be kept satisfied. But almost nobody is disputing that the running back did not deserve what he got.
Fans took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their views. Here are some of the reactions from the social media platform.
Others raised doubts about whether this was the right move given that the conventional wisdom is that running backs are easily replaceable through the draft. But then others pointed out that Christian McCaffrey is an every-down player who is an offensive enigma and cannot be compared to just another running back and, therefore, it is also wrong to say he is resetting the market for the position. Here are some other responses.
"Hot take here maybe but as a GM/Owner of a football team, especially in today’s game where the running back position has become less & less valuable to winning a Superbowl. And the fact that the longevity of runningbacks is not the best past 28-29 years old…. I rather pay my 26 year old star receiver > my 27 year old star runningback."
"The market ain’t reset... The man is the best in the game and has been for awhile. Nobody is touching this number for another RB not consistently in the top 3 every season for awhile"
"In his two seasons in SF: 2,205 rushing yards 20 rushing TDs 1,028 receiving yards 11 receiving TDs... Deserving of the extension."
Christian McCaffrey's retention puts the focus back on Brandon Aiyuk et al
Currently, the San Francisco 49ers have one of the best offenses in the NFL. Brock Purdy has shown himself to be a good quarterback and is still on his rookie deal. There's a new first-round addition of Ricky Pearsall. Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel are class operators. The tight end position is well served by George Kittle. And then there's Christian McCaffrey.
If they can retain all these players, then they will be competitive again this year. But that might prove hard because everyone amongst them would want to be paid close to the top of the market in their position, starting with Brandon Aiyuk. Unless they can reach an agreement, other teams will be ready to pounce on their players.
The best the 49ers might be able to do is to give big-money contracts to them but for short durations so that they can utilize this window when Brock Purdy is still on his rookie contract. Once he gets his big extension, they might then be willing to let some of these players go, especially if they already won a Super Bowl or two in the interim. That seems to be the thought process for Christian McCaffrey's contract length as well.