Gibbs and Robinson Reset the RB Market, But Jeremiyah Love Still Owns the Guarantee Record
Jahmyr Gibbs didn’t just reset the running back market this week. He blew past it a day after someone else already had. But rookie Jeremiyah Love still owns the number that matters most.
Gibbs agreed to a three-year, $67.5 million extension with the Detroit Lions on Thursday, a deal that Yahoo Sports reports can max out at $75.75 million with incentives and includes $51.5 million guaranteed. The move came roughly 24 hours after Bijan Robinson landed his own record-breaking three-year, $75 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons.
Two extensions, back to back, both marketed as the biggest running back contract in NFL history at the moment they were signed. That’s how fast the position’s pay scale is moving through this stretch of training camp.
Yet neither deal touched the guaranteed-money record set months earlier by a player who hadn’t taken an NFL snap.
Jeremiyah Love Still Holds the Guarantee Record
NFL insider Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team laid it out plainly on X, according to reporting from Heavy.com: Love still holds the record for the most guaranteed money in a running back contract at $53 million, even after this week’s run of deals for Robinson, Jonathan Taylor, and Gibbs.
Love signed his fully guaranteed four-year rookie deal with the Arizona Cardinals back in May, days after Arizona took him third overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. ESPN reported the deal came in at $53.9 million fully guaranteed over four years, with a team option for a fifth season. NFL.com confirmed it topped the previous high — Saquon Barkley’s $31.8 million guaranteed from his 2018 rookie deal with the Giants.
The gap matters because guaranteed money, not total contract value, is the number agents and players actually chase. A three-year veteran extension can carry a bigger headline figure while still trailing a rookie deal in guarantees, and that’s exactly what happened here.
| Player | Team | Contract Length | Total Value | Guaranteed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremiyah Love | Arizona Cardinals | 4 years | $53.9M | $53.9M (fully guaranteed) |
| Bijan Robinson | Atlanta Falcons | 3 years | $75M | Reported record guarantee at signing |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | Detroit Lions | 3 years | $67.5M (up to $75.75M) | $51.5M |
Why Gibbs’ Deal Changes Detroit’s Backfield
Gibbs isn’t just getting paid. He’s inheriting the backfield outright. The Lions traded David Montgomery, his running mate for the past two seasons, to the Houston Texans this offseason, clearing the way for Gibbs to become Detroit’s unquestioned lead back.
The Detroit News reports Gibbs has more touchdowns through his first three NFL seasons than any player in league history, passing Barry Sanders’ franchise mark last season. He’s made three straight Pro Bowls and enters 2026 as a favorite for Offensive Player of the Year, per multiple oddsmakers cited in that report. Detroit brought in Isiah Pacheco as depth, but he isn’t expected to siphon touches the way Montgomery once did — this is Gibbs’ backfield now, contract and workload both.
What It Means for Arizona
For the Cardinals, the record isn’t just a trivia note. It’s a marker of how much the franchise is betting on Love before he’s played a down. Arizona bypassed quarterback help to take him third overall, a decision that was scrutinized at the time and still carries weight now that three veteran backs have reset the market around him.
Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur, who came up under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco and later worked alongside Sean McVay with the Rams, inherits a rookie built to be the centerpiece of a wide-zone rushing attack. Love called the deal life-changing when he signed it in May but said it wouldn’t shift his mindset. “I still haven’t done anything at the end of the day,” he said, via ESPN. “I’m coming into the league with a mindset. I’m ready to work, ready to earn the things that I’ve been given.”
That’s the tension sitting under this week’s news. Gibbs and Robinson earned their numbers over three NFL seasons apiece. Love’s came from a draft slot. Whether that gap closes depends entirely on what happens once the pads come on in the desert this fall.
