NFL highest-paid running backs: How Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson reinvented the RB contract with Jeremiyah Love's help

It wasn't long ago that running backs were in crisis in the NFL.

After Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley failed to land long-term deals and were forced to play the 2023 season on the franchise tag, running backs held a position-wide Zoom call to discuss what they could do to get teams to recognize their value once again.

Then, Barkley rushed for more than 2,000 yards on his way to a championship with the Eagles. He became the first running back to break the $20 million-per-year barrier, setting a new standard for the position.

The door opened by Barkley has since been surpassed by Jonathan Taylor, Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, who can credit both the Eagles star and Cardinals rookie Jeremiyah Love for setting the bar high with their contracts.

Here's a look at the NFL's highest-paid running backs and how Love set a new standard for guaranteed money before even playing an NFL snap.

MORE: The NFL's 25 highest-paid players in 2026

NFL highest-paid running backs

When training camps began in 2026, only one running back had a contract worth more than $20 million annually: Saquon Barkley.

Since then, three more running backs have joined the club, completely redefining running back contracts. Bijan Robinson set a new high-water mark at $22.25 million per year, Jonathan Taylor signed a short-term extension at $22 million per year and now Jahmyr Gibbs has broken the record again.

Here are the 10 highest-paid running backs in the NFL:

1. Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions

• Annual salary: $22.5 million

After Robinson set a new high-water mark, Gibbs broke it with an extension of his own days later, ending a "hold-in" that kept him off the practice field for the Lions. Gibbs was drafted higher than some expected when Detroit took him at No. 12 overall in 2023, but he justified the pick by proving to be a dynamic runner and pass-catcher out of the Lions' backfield from day one.

2. Bijan Robinson, Falcons

• Annual salary: $22.25 million

Robinson became the second running back in NFL history to reach the $20 million-per-year mark, cruising past Barkley's record with a three-year, $66.75 million deal that pays him $22.25 million annually. Robinson, the No. 8 pick of the 2023 draft, totaled nearly 2,300 scrimmage yards for the Falcons in 2025.

3. Jonathan Taylor, Colts

• Annual salary: $22 million

Contract negotiations led to a trade request and extended holdout for Taylor in 2023, but they went much smoother in 2026 when the Colts star quietly signed a two-year, $44 million extension that represents an $8 million raise from his current deal. Taylor rushed for nearly 1,600 yards in 2025 and has a chance to become the Colts' all-time leading rusher as early as 2026.

4. Saquon Barkley, Eagles

• Annual salary: $20.6 million

A running back wouldn't ordinarily receive an extension just a year after signing a lucrative deal, but Barkley's 2,005-yard rushing season in 2024 was so dominant that the then-champion Eagles rewarded him with a record-setting deal. Barkley's $20.6 million annual salary has since been surpassed by Gibbs, Robinson and Taylor, but he set the high-water mark more than a year before their deals.

5. Christian McCaffrey, 49ers

• Annual salary: $19 million

Fresh off an Offensive Player of the Year season, McCaffrey agreed to a two-year, $38 million extension with the 49ers to make him the NFL's highest-paid running back at the time. Now 30 years old, McCaffrey managed to stay healthy for nearly the entire 2025 season and was both the 49ers' leading rusher and receiver. 

MORE: The NFL's highest-paid players on defense in 2026

6. De'Von Achane, Dolphins

• Annual salary: $16 million

The Dolphins might have gotten themselves a bargain when they signed De'Von Achane to a four-year, $64 million extension ahead of the Robinson, Taylor and Gibbs deals. The dynamic former Texas A&M star exploded for 1,838 scrimmage yards in 2025, and he's set to be the focal point of a run-heavy Miami offense in 2026 and beyond.

7. Derrick Henry, Ravens

• Annual salary: $15 million

The Ravens only paid Henry $8 million per year on the two-year deal he signed in 2024, and that quickly proved to be a massive bargain when he ran for more than 1,900 yards in his first season in Baltimore. The future Hall of Famer signed an extension in 2025 that pays him $15 million annually, the highest mark of his great career.

8. Breece Hall, Jets

• Annual salary: $14.5 million

Hall's future in New York was at the center of speculation throughout 2025, but a strong season in an otherwise broken offense convinced the Jets to use their franchise tag on the former second-round pick. After negotiations lasted into May, the two sides agreed to a three-yea, $43.5 million extension through 2028.

9. Kenneth Walker III, Chiefs

• Annual salary: $14.35 million

Talk about hitting free agency at the right time: Walker's value seemingly hit a low point after 2024, when he missed six games and had the least efficient season of is career, but a season that saw him bounce-back with 4.6 yards per carry and earn Super Bowl MVP honors set the Seahawks standout up for a payday. Walker agreed to a lucrative deal with the Chiefs, earning $14.35 million annually.

10. Jeremiyah Love, Cardinals

• Annual salary: $13.26 million

Because the Cardinals drafted Love so high, taking him third overall, the former Notre Dame star is already making more than $13 million per year on his rookie contract. Not only that, but Love's contract is fully guaranteed, which set a standard of its own and left him with the most guaranteed money of any running back in the NFL until Gibbs' deal.

MORE: Meet the top first-year Hall of Fame candidates in 2027

Most guaranteed money for a running back

By being drafted in a slot that landed him a fully guaranteed $53.02 million contract, Love received the most guaranteed money of any running back in NFL history before even stepping foot onto an NFL field.

That also set a standard that helped Gibbs and Robinson break the bank, with each receiving more than $50 million in guarantees on their new deals this summer.

Here are the running backs with the most guaranteed money on their deals:

Running backs on shorter deals, like McCaffrey and Henry, aren't in the top 10 because their contracts just aren't long enough to have too much guaranteed money, while Love is joined by another player on his rookie deal in Las Vegas' Ashton Jeanty, whose $35.9 million contract is fully guaranteed as well.