Former agent explains how John Mara could be 'saving grace' for Giants star

A former sports agent has suggested New York Giants co-owner John Mara could essentially force general manager Joe Schoen to get a deal done with star running back Saquon Barkley.

"His saving grace may be that if Mara wants him there, it doesn’t matter what everyone else says," former agent and current CBS Sports NFL contracts and salary-cap expert Joel Corry told Dan Duggan of The Athletic about Barkley. "It wouldn’t necessarily be, 'I’m taking this over.' It’s like, 'Get a deal done. Do what you’ve got to do to get it done.'" 

Barkley is on track to play on the $10.091M franchise tender for 2023.

Schoen hasn't refuted reports claiming he pulled all offers off the table after he used the non-exclusive franchise tag to retain Barkley's rights for 2023. In a different conversation, Corry called Schoen's actions "an unusual step" and one that "would send a message to me if I’m the player that this is going to be a truly tough negotiation."

Before reports stated Barkley's camp rejected a multiyear contract worth roughly $13M per season with incentives that could've bumped the deal to $14M, ESPN's Jordan Raanan hinted at Mara's potential role regarding negotiations. 

"Mara is heavily involved in the day-to-day activity of the team and understands Barkley's value," Raanan wrote for a piece published on Feb. 16. "Barkley's personal team, especially his business manager, is also close with co-owner Steve Tisch."

In March, Mara publicly admitted he told Barkley he wanted the 2018 first-round draft pick "to be a Giant for his entire career." As recently as Wednesday, team beat writer Paul Schwartz of the New York Post mentioned how Barkley's marketability could impact contract talks. 

"It should not be lost on the power brokers who run the Giants that Saquon Barkley, the player they are playing hardball with on a contract extension, is far and away their leading social-media presence," Schwartz wrote. "Barkley leads the Giants with slightly more than 2.5 million followers on Instagram...There are no challengers among the Giants to Barkley’s Instagram throne..."

A seemingly frustrated Barkley hasn't signed the tag, and Schoen doesn't need the 26-year-old in the team facility for what are largely meaningless springtime workouts. There's no rush for either side since they have until the July 17 deadline for clubs to sign tagged players to agree on a long-term deal, but it's possible Barkley's representatives are hoping Mara will ultimately make Schoen cave ever-so-slightly to please the organization's highest-profile star.