Centers Are Undervalued, Not Running Backs
The pity party going on for the running backs around the league has gotten out of control. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I’d argue the running back market is still grossly overvalued compared to others around the league. I don’t know who needs to hear this but centers are significantly undervalued and underpaid around the league, not running backs.
For those that read my post on the running backs crying a river, you noticed the graphic of the recent Super Bowl winners at the running back position. You will notice a trend that none of the running backs on that list were being paid anything relevant. The same is not necessarily true for the center position.
Yes, five of the players on this list were under rookie contracts. However, the quality of the player is much greater and there are highly paid contracts mixed in here. Jason Kelce, Creed Humphrey, Ryan Jensen, and David Andrews are better players at their position than any running back is on that Super Bowl list.
Multiple things are working against running backs; reality, evolution, analytics, and supply/demand. Teams are realizing that having one workhorse back doesn’t make any sense anymore. Your starting center doesn’t leave the field. This stat more than any other should completely dismiss the nonsense that the running backs are trying to spew.
The 16th-highest-paid center (roughly the median for starters) is making $4.325M in AAV and played 965 snaps last season ($4,481.87 per snap)
— Zach Segars (@Zach_Segars) July 18, 2023
The 16th-highest-paid running back is making $4.5M in AAV and played 208 offensive snaps last season ($21,634.62 per snap) https://t.co/EODpY5pFbP
I hear this one all the time. “Running backs age too quickly because of how much contact they take”. Well, centers take contact on quite literally every single play while never leaving the field. The only difference is you care about these players more because they rack up fantasy stats. That’s it. That can’t be your only argument on why we need to fix the running back market.
There are also so many talented running backs and I’ll give you a perfect example. Tyler Goodson is probably someone that you never heard of before but is the Packers third string running back. Goodson is legitimately good and averaged 4.8 yards per carry while at Iowa. He saw zero carries while with the Packers last year because Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon are on the depth chart. Goodson didn’t even get drafted (here is his draft profile in case you’re looking). That’s not even including the other 22 running backs that got drafted that year.
Now compare that to the seven centers that got drafted last year and only one (Tyler Linderbaum) really matters. There are a lot fewer great centers compared to running backs, yet aren’t paid like great players. Your offensive line matters a hell of a lot more than the tailback behind it. The Cowboys’ offensive line still hasn’t been the same since Travis Frederick retired. The Chiefs lost the Super Bowl against the Bucs because their offensive line crumbled. Not because a running back underperformed.
I hear this argument all the time too. “Well, running backs age faster so they need to get paid to make up for lost time”. That’s not how life works. That’s not how business works. Could you imagine if a teacher demanded a raise because he was going to miss time from work? They would get laughed at.
These running backs need to get with reality. Paying running backs has turned into a terrible business model and we have evidence to prove it. The Le’Veon Bell and Ezekiel Elliott contracts weren’t worth it. If running backs want to change the narrative, how about we start by having those guys take accountability? Let’s give more love to the centers out there who deserve more money. Not the running backs who have proven to be very replaceable.
If we’re being real, I’d argue that running backs should feel lucky they still make the money that they do.
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