Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler has been embroiled in contract sagas before, and he is certainly well versed on the current market surrounding NFL running backs. Speaking on how the NFL is valuing running backs in today's league, Ekeler did not mince any fairly critical words, reports the Associated Press' Joe Reedy.

“There's a lot of media trying to justify why the running backs aren't getting paid, and they are using these general numbers…it goes deeper than that. We're not just numbers on a page, we're actual players, we all have different impacts on each team. It is very situational…value isn't tied to general rule of statistics…one of those things that we can do in the short-term is to continue to put the narrative out of why we are important.”

Austin Ekeler gives a lengthy response on why running backs need to be valued by more than what they put up statistically. He goes on to later consider Saquon Barkley as an example; he wonders how important Barkley is to the success of the New York Giants as a whole, and why his numbers on the field do not reflect what Barkley does to help his offense outside of his particular stats.

Ekeler himself has been back and forth with the Chargers in regards to him not believing his current contract reflects how much he is worth to Los Angeles. Unfortunately for him, it is unlikely that anything changes anytime soon based on what the current market looks like. For now, all Ekeler and the rest of the NFL running backs can do is continually prove on the field why they should be getting paid more.