The Miami Dolphins locked up their star running back De'Von Achane on a four-year, $68 million extension earlier this week. $17 million per year, $32 million in guarantees, and the most both categories have ever been for a back coming off a rookie deal.
It's the latest in a string of massive running back contracts this offseason, following Breece Hall's three year, $45.75 million deal with the Jets earlier this month.
And every one of those contracts is making Bijan Robinson's eventual extension more expensive for the Atlanta Falcons. The longer they wait, the more expensive it will get.
As the RB market keeps moving, so will Bijan Robinson's price tag
Robinson is a two-time Pro Bowler through three seasons and was a First Team All-Pro in 2025. He led the league in scrimmage yards with 2,298 (and set a franchise record doing it) and had the NFL's longest touchdown run of the year at 93 yards.
Spotrac projected his value at three years and $57 million back in March, which would put him past Saquon Barkley's current $20.6 million per year. That was before Achane's deal reset the market again. The number only goes up from here.
The Atlanta Falcons has the fifth-year option on Robinson's rookie deal already picked up, so there's not really any immediate urgency. But the longer the Falcons wait, the higher the market climbs, and the more they'll owe when they finally get there.
The question isn't whether Robinson gets a record-setting deal. It's whether Atlanta reaches for a longer term arrangement pushing toward $100 million, or goes shorter to top Barkley's annual value.
Either way, the Falcons don't have a choice here. Robinson has been their offense. He's the face of the franchise in a year when the quarterback situation is still unsettled and the defense is still building toward something.
And Robinson himself isn't exactly acting like a player content with what he's already done.
"People always say to me: 'Bro, you're like 12th-highest all-purpose player in NFL history,'" Robinson said this spring. "But I am like, 'Cool, but it wasn't good enough because we didn't accomplish what we wanted to accomplish.'"
That mentality is what put him in this conversation in the first place. He's heading into Year 4 feeling better than he ever has. The production trend is pointing up. Achane's deal was a signal flare for Atlanta. The price on Bijan Robinson just went up again, and the Falcons are going to have to pay it.
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