Los Angeles Charger star Austin Ekeler has been one of the most buzzed-about players throughout these early stages of the NFL's new league year. Last week, the 27-year-old requested permission to seek a trade after contract negotiations between him and the franchise fell through.

Since this initial reporting, the running back has made multiple public announcements and appearances, providing more insight into his desire to look for a new organization to call home.

During a March 21 episode of Green Light with Chris Long, Austin Ekeler dove even deeper into his current situation, suggesting that he feels he, along with the rest of the running backs scattered across the league, get disrespected on the open market as far as finances are concerned.

“Bro, it's brutal out here, man. It's terrible as far as the running back market and how we're getting treated right now,” Ekeler said. “What do we got to do to get paid as running backs to our actual value and not just be getting, like, you know, a few [million dollars] when we're out here.”

Austin Ekeler would go on to note that despite having put up a total of 18 touchdowns and accumulated 1,637 all-purpose yards in 2022, he and the Chargers still cannot seem to find common ground on the structure of an extension.

Already this offseason we've seen players at the position who are equally as talented that, despite having tremendous seasons, agreed to rather humble contracts hovering around the $6 million range.

With this reality, one could argue that considering how the market has played out, the money Ekeler is looking to receive just simply may not be attainable this offseason.