Saquon Barkley is carrying the hopes and dreams of New York Giants fans on his back. Barkley was selected number two overall in this year&#8217;s NFL  draft. His rookie year will be a lucrative one, as <a href="http://www.espn.com/blog/new-york-giants/post/_/id/57360/saquon-barkley-inks-31-2-million-rookie-deal-with-giants" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">ESPN</a> reports that Barkley signed a four-year, $31.2 million rookie contract on Sunday (July 22). All first round rookie contracts are guaranteed. The deal features an immediate payout of $15 million, a hefty perk that was negotiated by Roc Nation agent Kim Miale.
Based on the contract, Barkley is now one of the top-paid running backs in the league with an average of nearly $8 million per season. Le&#8217;Veon Bell, Devonta Freeman, and LeSean McCoy are the only running backs who average more. Along with endorsement deals, Barkley will be bringing home a cool $21 million this year, making him the highest paid running back for the 2018 season (so far). The 21-year-old rookie is thinking smart, and has already revealed that he will be following in Marshawn Lynch&#8217;s footsteps by only spending his endorsement money. &#8220;Once I realized when I declared for the NFL draft and kind of realized where I was going to be drafted, that was something I was like, &#8216;You know what? Kind of want to follow the Marshawn Lynch method,&#8221; <a href="https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/saquon-barkley-following-marshawn-lynch-method-with-his-nfl-salary-news.53876.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Barkey stated</a>. &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to touch that. I want to invest it, put it in the right peoples&#8217; hands and learn as I continue to make investments. And just live off the endorsement deals.'&#8221;