Feb 22, 2026
3 min read
Running back Javonte Williams made a bet last year and signed a one-year, $3 million deal.
Running back Javonte Williams made a bet last year and signed a one-year, $3 million deal.He threw for 1,200 yards.
His reward was a three-year, $24 million contract to stay with the Cowboys.
With Williams' deal being the first significant contract signed by an approaching free agent, it's important to remember a few things as we approach the new contract season.Early reports usually overestimate the actual value of the contract.For example, the reported $16 million guaranteed for Williams is not fully guaranteed at the time of signing, and little is known about the structure of the deal.There may be a bit of urgency in the queue to make the deal look better than it is, and reporters rushing to Twitter with information rarely if ever insist on full and accurate details.they do, someone else gets the scoop.)
For now, the potentially bloated preliminary report also reinforces an important point: the rebounding position remains undervalued.
The deal, if indeed worth $8 million per year, puts Williams 16th among current running backs.And when he took the offer before the annual teasing party in Indianapolis, it was considered the best he was going to get.
The Cowboys could try to sign Williams before he hits the market, perhaps using their CBA violation to negotiate directly with the player.Or explaining that when players sign limited one-year contracts, they'll get another younger veteran returning in the second or third wave of free agency.
What will Williams get on the open market, though? The fact that Texas has no state income tax is a factor. (Most players only care about APY, which is usually a mistake).
This happens for a very simple reason.The supply of capable running backs outstrips the demand.Instead of paying a veteran who can't duplicate his performance in a contract year, teams can turn to the draft for younger, cheaper and generally healthier players.
Every year, college football creates a lot of backlash that can be played at the NFL level if they can reliably handle the ball and if they can get the blitzers to defend the ball.Most of them are having their best years under the new contract.
Williams' contract gives other teams the information they need in their negotiations with running backs.The rest of the players trying to get paid (Kenneth Walker III, Bryce Hall, Travis Etienne, Rico Duddle, Rashad White, Isaiah Pacheco, JK Dobbins) have to deal with the argument that the guy who rushed for 1,200 yards in 2025 is only getting paid $8 million a year.(The answering numbers include that Williams isn't much of a factor in the passing game and lacks breakaway speed.)
Then there's Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs.He is currently eligible for another contract and has shown superstar ability to warrant a market-level contract.
And what Falcons running back Bijan Robinson?Robinson was named the league's best player of all time by his former coach Raheem Morris, and he will also be under contract with the Stars.
Will the Williams deal limit what the Lions will offer Gibbs and the Falcons will offer Robinson?It shouldn't be a factor at all.Gibbs and Robinson are closer to Barkley and McCaffrey than the players hitting the market.However, all running backs about to become free agents must face the fact, as the Williams deal highlights, that the running back market is still not what it should be, or perhaps what it is.
