Jets' Breece Hall Reacts to $38 Million Christian McCaffrey Deal

Getty New York Jets running back Breece Hall reacting in the middle of a press conference.

It’s fair to say that New York Jets running back Breece Hall noticed the new deal that Christian McCaffrey just signed.

When asked about the record-breaking $38 million extension that McCaffrey inked with the San Francisco 49ers, Hall couldn’t help but smile.

“It was cool ya know. Like I said, he sets the standard. It was just cool to see him raise the [running back] market and continue to get paid. You know he’s still a top-10 player in this league. I feel like with my talent and the team we have, I have the potential to trend towards that way so I’m just excited to get rolling,” Hall said to the media at mandatory minicamp.

The Line Has Been Drawn in the Sand for the Jets

McCaffrey was already the highest-paid running back in football heading into this offseason. He was making $16 million per year, but the 49ers ensured that he would hold that crown for the foreseeable future with a new $19 million per year annual salary.

In a tough market for running backs in today’s NFL, McCaffrey so far has proven to be the outlier.

McCaffrey is the NFL’s highest-paid back at $19 million per year, but the rest of the top five isn’t enjoying that kind of financial windfall, per Over The Cap:

1. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints; $15 million per year
2. Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts; $14 million per year
3. Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles; $12.6 million per year
4. Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers; $12 million per year

Hall isn’t eligible for a contract extension until the 2025 offseason. However, the clock is ticking because Hall is a former second-round draft choice. Players who are selected after the first round sign four-year standard contracts as opposed to the fifth-year options for first-rounders.

While Hall was initially upset he didn’t hear his name called in the first round back in 2022, it looks like it’ll work out much better that he wasn’t.

The former Iowa State product will only have one year left on his deal when he’s eligible to discuss a long-term deal with the Jets in 2025.

Hall Is Ready to Join the NFL’s Elite in 2024

Hall, 23, has shown flashes of being one of the most dynamic running backs in football. Yet he hasn’t rushed for 1,000 yards in his campaign nor has he gotten the chance to play for a winning team.

What Hall did accomplish is the second most prolific receiving season by a running back in team history with 76 receptions in 2023.

“Yeah I caught a lot but I also had some drops too which was concentration stuff trying to make a play and everything. It’s our second year in the offense with [Nathaniel] Hackett and everything. Now I can play with more accelerator vision, I’m a lot more confident with everything, I feel like I can see stuff before it’s happening even more now so that’ll help me a lot,” Hall explained.