The Atlanta Falcons are going to be throwing around cash like there's no tomorrow this offseason, and it's easy to see why. Not only does Ian Cunningham need to agree to extensions with a barrage of pending free agents, Drake London and Bijan Robinson are also eligible for new long-term contracts.
An extension with Kyle Pitts is the most immediate hurdle for the Falcons to clear, but the longer they wait, the higher the price tags will get with London and Robinson. Bijan's case is especially tricky, as the running back market is nowhere near as robust, but another team may have forced Atlanta's hand.
With NFL combine week on the horizon, ESPN's Dan Graziano and Eric Woodyard dropped a bombshell. They reported that the Detroit Lions are preparing to make star running back Jahmyr Gibbs the highest-paid RB in NFL history with a lucrative new contract extension this offseason.
Their report said Gibbs is expected to make over $20 million per year, and that a four-year $80 million extension is a good ballpark estimate. And with how much the RB market has evolved, that's a lot of money, which means that there's no telling what how much Bijan would get paid with a new contract as the best RB in football.
The Lions are making the road tougher for the Falcons to get an extension done with Bijan Robinson
This offseason has essentially been a race between the Falcons and Lions to see who can sign their stud young back to a new deal first now that they're both eligible for extensions. They're both expected to cash in in a major way, but the Dirty Birds are at a disadvantage because of how many players they have to prioritize in the immediate future.
Like the great Ricky Bobby once said, "if you're not first, you're last", which holds true for NFL front offices. Every new contract has the opportunity to reset the market at a given position, so if the Lions beat the Falcons to the punch, they'll have to shell out even more money to keep him in red and black.
In all likelihood, the running back signed second will want more money than the one who signed his deal first, since they are both angling to be the highest-paid RB in the NFL. And after Bijan amassed a franchise-record 2,298 scrimmage yards in 2025, there's no world where they can ever let him walk.
The Texas Longhorns' star will run wild in Kevin Stefanski's scheme, so it's not like his price tag will ever be this cheap again. With the way the salary cap has periodically increased every season, Cunningham's goal should be to use that to his advantage and make his new deal look like a bargain.
Their only roadblock is Detroit's negotations with Gibbs, so they better make sure that while they're motivated to put pen to paper, but not too antsy. Hopefully, the all-world back loves Atlanta enough to want to retire here and take a team-friendly deal.