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The Kansas City Chiefs could have a hold out on their hands. CBS Kansas City reports that star running back Jamaal Charles will seriously consider holding out in an effort to land a new contract with the team.
Per the report, Charles is prepared to hold out “for as long as it takes”. There is also a conflicting report from the Kansas City Star, which suggests Charles does want a new deal done, but will show up to camp “regardless of whether an extension is in place”.
Only one can be completely true, so it’s understandable if the Chiefs are slightly concerned. They should be, at least, as Charles is easily one of the elite backs in the NFL and is arguably being vastly underpaid for the numbers he puts up. Charles is fresh off of an insanely productive season, where he touched the ball a total of 329 times, while putting up over 1,900+ yards and 19 total touchdowns.
Despite the clearly elite numbers, Charles won’t make much more than $4 million in this year or in 2015, and is set to become a free agent in 2016. By comparison, some of the top paid running backs make up to 7-8 million per season, while arguably the game’s top talent at the position – Adrian Peterson – makes over $11 million annually.
Charles can’t possibly be expecting to land Adrian Peterson-type money, but with several running backs making considerably more money than him, Charles has a pretty strong argument to try to get himself a nicer payday.
Also working in Charles’ favor is the fact that he’s coming off probably his best, most complete season as a pro. In addition, he’s all the Chiefs really have on offense, so entering some type of real hold out isn’t even remotely in the best interests of the team.
Kansas City would be forced to roll with a combination of Knile Davis, Cyrus Gray and De’Anthony Thomas at running back if Charles were to in fact hold out. We can expect this situation to be resolved well before the season starts.
