Falcons delay – After the Falcons secured Drake London’s four-year, $141 million extension, star running back Bijan Robinson—described as the NFL’s most underpaid superstar—still waits for a new contract. The key pressure point is the fifth-year option that can guarantee $11.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Bijan Robinson stepped into the post-practice media session with plenty on his mind. from soccer and the FIFA World Cup schedule to what comes next for Atlanta’s offense. But when the conversation shifted to the money side of the NFL—specifically whether he could be next—he didn’t bite.
“We’ll see,” Robinson said. “I’m not that guy to talk about it. I’ll let them handle all that stuff. We’ll see.”
The timing is what makes it feel tense. On Monday, the Falcons cemented Drake London’s future with a four-year, $141 million extension, including $99.8 million guaranteed. London’s new deal has him near the top of the wide receiver market. and it sets a clear marker for what the organization is willing to do with its stars—while Robinson’s situation remains unresolved.
Robinson’s praise for London was immediate. He talked up the impact of the new contract, but he stopped short of any direct comment on his own leverage, even as the numbers make the difference hard to ignore.
Robinson is 24 and is still operating under the economics of a rookie contract that he has already clearly outperformed. His base salary for 2026 is $1.145 million, with a roster bonus of $2.599 million, for a grand total of $3.74 million in the fourth year of that deal.
By production alone, the gap is glaring. Last season, Robinson led the NFL with 2,298 yards from scrimmage and posted career highs in rushing yards (1,478), catches (79), and receiving yards (820). He added 97 first downs, third in the league. Across three NFL seasons, he has never missed a game.
The Falcons, for their part, aren’t dealing with a quiet, replaceable commodity. Robinson’s running style is built around sharp changes of direction. breath-taking moves. and the ability to turn nearly any play into a long-distance threat—an impact that has not been common in Atlanta since Michael Vick’s era.
His contract math also comes with a clock.
The Falcons exercised the fifth-year option on first-round picks, a mechanism teams can use and also rescind. If Robinson’s new deal isn’t completed before that point, the option would guarantee him $11.323 million in 2027.
Matt Ryan, now the Falcons’ president of football, acknowledged that a new pact for Robinson is a priority—without offering a timeline for when it will be finalized.
“We’ll figure it out,” Ryan told USA TODAY Sports this week.
Ryan framed the situation in terms of process and negotiation leverage—an NFL reality that gives teams multiple ways to control timing, including franchise tags and fifth-year options. But he also made the pitch that the Falcons want Robinson embedded in the organization for the long haul.
“Bijan, he’s a really special player,” Ryan said. “There’s no timetable for kind of hammering that out, but he’s a guy that we certainly want here to be a part of the organization for a long time.”
Robinson’s fourth season under his rookie terms now arrives under new leadership, with Kevin Stefanski as head coach and Tommy Rees as offensive coordinator. Robinson sounded upbeat about the offense, saying he’s excited to execute what Rees has installed.
“I don’t want to share too much, but there’s a lot of fun stuff that Tommy has put in, that we’re continuing to evolve,” Robinson said. “I just can’t wait to execute it when camp comes around.”
Even as that on-field optimism remains. Robinson’s contract posture reflects the harsh economic logic of the running back position—one the NFL has repeatedly tested. Robinson plays a role with one of the shortest career spans in the league. and his value is increasingly difficult to preserve through contract bargaining even when his performance is consistently market-defining.
The NFL’s salary structure makes the disparity feel more acute. The highest-paid running back is Saquon Barkley at $20.6 million per year, followed by Christian McCaffrey at $19 million. No other running back tops $16 million per year.
By comparison, top-edge defenders command far more at the top of the market: Will Anderson and Micah Parsons average $50 million and $46.5 million, respectively. Centers average $29 million at the high end, and market-pacing receivers top $40 million—London’s deal averages $35.263 million.
That mismatch is part of why Robinson is widely described as the NFL’s most underpaid superstar while still on his rookie contract.
The human stakes are plain for the Falcons too. The organization is trying to snap a string of eight consecutive losing seasons, and leaving its best player without clarity for too long can create a kind of quiet damage—especially after the team moved decisively to lock up London.
Ryan talked about negotiation in a way that sounded like a lesson learned, not a marketing line. He pointed back to the contract culture he experienced as a player—signing a top-market deal during his prime—and to how Arthur Blank once sent Ryan’s agent. Tom Condon. a dollar bill with the inscription: “My last dollar.”.
“I don’t think I took Arthur’s last dollar,” Ryan reminisced. “I don’t think Drake did, either. We’ll figure that out.”
For Robinson. the stakes are sharper because time behaves differently for running backs than it does for quarterbacks or pass rushers. The Falcons’ deal for London shows what the team can do when it chooses to move. Now the focus is on what it will take for Robinson—who posted 2. 298 yards from scrimmage last season and has never missed a game—to land the kind of contract his output has been quietly demanding.
As Stefanski and Rees prepare their offense and Atlanta shifts into another regime change cycle, Robinson will carry the same question into camp: how long the Falcons are willing to let “we’ll see” stand between a superstar and the money that matches his season-by-season reality.
Bijan Robinson Atlanta Falcons Drake London NFL contracts fifth-year option Matt Ryan Kevin Stefanski Tommy Rees running back salaries
So they just forgot Bijan? lol
I don’t get why they’re stalling, like if he’s “underpaid” then pay him? Also the Drake London deal was Monday, so maybe they’ll do Bijan after everyone calms down.
Wait, the fifth-year option is the thing that can guarantee like $11… but $11 million? or $11 bucks? Either way, this feels like they lowball him on purpose. Also he said “we’ll see” which sounds like he’s mad, not gonna lie. Could’ve just said a number.
Bijan should’ve been the first extension, not London. Like you got a star RB and they’re negotiating after the WR gets paid, that’s backwards. And “most underpaid superstar” feels like clickbait but maybe he is actually getting screwed. Falcons always seem cheap until it’s too late.