One of the NFL’s best offensive players is getting paid, as the Atlanta Falcons got a deal done with running back Bijan Robinson. The three-year extension is worth up to $75 million and includes $51 million fully guaranteed, the most ever guaranteed to a running back. So, what does the NFL think of Robinson’s payday?
Why Bijan Robinson Is Worth the Money
The reactions were super positive, as Ryan Clark, former NFL safety, said on X, “Yea Bijan!! Couldn’t happen for a better player & more importantly person. Game time!”
Yea Bijan!! Couldn’t happen for a better player & more importantly person. Game time!
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) August 4, 2026
This payday was historic for the running back position. Robinson’s deal carries a base average of $22.25 million per year and a maximum average of $25 million, either of which clears Saquon Barkley’s previous position-record $20.6 million. The rest of the top of the market: Christian McCaffrey at $19 million, De’Von Achane at $16 million, Breece Hall at $15.25 million and Derrick Henry at $15 million.
Robinson is deserving of such high pay, especially since he is coming off of a spectacular season. During 2025, Robinson ran for 1,478 yards on 287 attempts, good for 5.1 yards per carry. He had five games over 100 rushing yards, two of them over 150.
Bijan Robinson finished 2nd in PFN’s RB Impact metric in 2025. 💥
Where would you rank the Falcons All-Pro among all NFL RBs right now? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/nSh52AWgVf
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 4, 2026
He also led the NFL with 2,298 scrimmage yards, a Falcons franchise record and the 12th-highest single-season total in league history, after adding 79 catches for 820 yards and four scores. Robinson is just the second running back ever with 1,400 rushing yards and 800 receiving yards in the same season.
WELL DESERVED! pic.twitter.com/82xcCVWOCm
— RunThe.GG (@RunTheGG) August 4, 2026
Robinson is deserving of such high pay, especially since he is coming off of a spectacular season. During 2025, Robinson ran for 1,478 yards. He did this on only 278 attempts, meaning Robinson had an impressive 5.2 yards per carry. Robinson had five games over 100 rushing yards. Two of these games were over 150 yards.
During his magnificent year, Robinson received an 86.4 grade, which ranked second according to PFN’s running back Impact Metric Grade. This is also the 13th highest graded season for a running back since 2020. So, Robinson’s season was not just amazing in terms of 2025, but in recent memory as well.
PREDICT THE NFL SEASON: PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor
That production had already earned Robinson a spot near the top of PFN’s Top 100 NFL Players Entering 2026, where he checked in at No. 38, the fourth-highest running back on the list, behind only Jahmyr Gibbs (No. 18), Derrick Henry (No. 36) and Christian McCaffrey (No. 37). His 86.4 mark on PFN’s RB Impact Scoring metric was the second-best score of any running back in 2025, and his Impact Score has climbed every single year he’s been in Atlanta. Robinson and Gibbs are the only two backs to finish in the top four of the metric in both 2024 and 2025.
Per Adam Schefter on X, “Bijan Robinson in three seasons:805 carries, 3,910 rushing yards, 198 catches, 1,738 receiving yards, 34 total TDs, 2x Pro Bowler, First Team All-Pro (2025).”
Bijan Robinson in three seasons:
🏈805 carries
🏈3,910 rushing yards
🏈198 catches
🏈1,738 receiving yards
🏈34 total TDs
🏈2x Pro Bowler
🏈First-Team All-Pro (2025) https://t.co/6GgbydnUim— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 4, 2026
Not only does this tweet by Schefter highlight how consistently dominant Robinson is, but also his lethal ability as a receiving back.
Robinson getting this huge payday made this influencer on X nostalgic as they tweeted, “Running backs finally getting paid again. Bijan earned every dollar of that deal.”
Robinson’s deal caps an offseason that has reshaped the position. Travis Etienne Jr. ($48 million), Breece Hall ($45.75 million), Kenneth Walker III ($43 million) and De’Von Achane ($64 million) all cashed in before him, and Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs is next in line. Walker, meanwhile, became the first running back named Super Bowl MVP since Terrell Davis in 1998 after rushing for 135 yards in Seattle’s win over New England. The position that looked devalued a couple of years ago is very much back.
The agreement ends a hold-in that had kept Robinson off the practice field at Falcons training camp. He and Gibbs, his 2023 draft classmate, had both been sitting out as their teams worked through negotiations. The deal was negotiated by agent Nicole Lynn of Klutch Sports.
