Jonathan Taylor Just Reset the Running Back Market With a $44 Million Extension

The running back market was supposed to be dead, but Jonathan Taylor just found $44 million in the Indianapolis Colts' couch cushions.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter via Stephen Holder, the Pro-Bowl back has agreed to a two-year, $44 million extension. That is a cool $22 million a year for a position that most NFL front offices currently treat like a disposable razor.

"Reported by Adam Schefter via Stephen Holder."

For context, paying a running back $22 million annually in the modern NFL is the financial equivalent of buying a brand-new luxury car and parking it in a demolition derby. But if anyone is going to survive the crash and justify the price tag, it is Taylor.

The Colts know exactly what they are doing here. You do not draft a young, developing quarterback and then hand him the keys without a reliable engine in the backfield. Taylor is the ultimate safety blanket, and Indianapolis is paying a premium to make sure their offense actually functions on early downs.

From a futures perspective, locking down a healthy Taylor keeps the Colts' offensive floor high. Oddsmakers know that a functional running game is the only thing keeping half the league from completely collapsing in December, and having a locked-in star back stabilizes their weekly projections.

Now the pressure shifts to the rest of the league. Every elite running back heading into a contract year just screenshotted Schefter's tweet and sent it to their agent. Taylor got his bag, and the Colts get two more years of their offensive centerpiece.