Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
The Green Bay Packers were fortunate that Aaron Jones agreed to take a pay cut in order to remain with the team in 2023. Had he not agreed to it, Green Bay likely would have cut him to save salary cap space. However, Green Bay is the only team that he wants to play for, even getting the G tattooed on his knee this offseason.
Other teams around the NFL, though, are in an opposite position. New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley and Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs were each franchise tagged by their respective teams. Neither are very happy about it and are refusing to report to training camp until they get new contracts.
The issue has drawn attention to the fact that running backs in the NFL are underpaid when compared to players at other positions. On Tuesday evening, Jones himself posted a Tweet that expresses his feelings regarding the matter.
Since Jones was willing to take a pay cut in order to stay with his team, one might have expected him to disagree with their decisions to hold out. However, that is not the case. In fact, Jones states that he believes running backs in general are undervalued:
Many NFL quarterbacks, including former Wisconsin Badgers star Jonathan Taylor, have posted similar messages on social media stating that they feel running backs are not getting a fair shake.