Bijan Robinson Signs Record $75M Falcons Extension to Become NFL’s Highest-Paid Running Back

Bijan Robinson is no longer waiting on the Atlanta Falcons to make him rich. The Falcons and their star running back have agreed to a three-year extension worth up to $75 million, according to reports from ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, instantly making Robinson the highest-paid running back in NFL history.

The deal comes after weeks of speculation and a training camp hold-in, with Robinson attending practices but sitting out reps while his camp and the Falcons hammered out the framework of a deal that resets the running back market. At roughly $25 million annually, the extension blows past Saquon Barkley’s $20.6 million-per-year benchmark set with the Philadelphia Eagles, which had stood as the position’s ceiling since last offseason.

How Robinson Climbed to the Top of the Running Back Market

Robinson entered this offseason with two years left on his rookie deal, including a fifth-year option projected at roughly $11.3 million for 2027. Rather than let him play out that window and risk paying a premium later or losing negotiating leverage, Atlanta opted to lock in its 24-year-old workhorse now, tying him to the franchise through the 2029 season.

The timing tracks with Robinson’s production. He just wrapped a 2025 season in which he started all 17 games, rushed for 1,478 yards and seven touchdowns, and added 79 catches for 820 yards and four more scores through the air. His 2,298 scrimmage yards set the Atlanta franchise record and ranked 12th all-time for a single season. Robinson also became the only player in NFL history to post at least 1,400 rushing yards and 810 receiving yards in the same season, and he passed Christian McCaffrey for the most scrimmage yards by a player under 24 years old.

Across three NFL seasons, Robinson has piled up 3,910 rushing yards, 25 rushing touchdowns, 198 receptions, 1,738 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns since Atlanta drafted him eighth overall in 2023. That dual-threat profile is exactly what pushed his price tag past every running back who came before him, including Barkley and McCaffrey, both of whom had held the position’s financial crown in recent years.

What the Deal Means for Falcons Futures and Robinson’s Props

The news lands just as Atlanta’s win total for the season sat at 7.5 with sportsbooks, and Robinson had already been priced as a top contender in the Offensive Player of the Year race at odds north of +850 before this contract was finalized. Locking in football’s best all-around back on a long-term deal removes any lingering doubt about his workload or motivation heading into the season, which matters directly to bettors weighing those award futures and Atlanta’s win total.

Robinson had also been attached to a rushing yardage prop in the neighborhood of 1,175 yards, a number set before the contract situation was resolved. With his financial future settled and no more hold-in drama to track, sportsbooks and bettors alike will be watching closely to see whether lines on his rushing total, touchdown props and OPOY odds shift now that Atlanta has made its long-term investment official. A fully committed, extension-secured Robinson removes a variable that oddsmakers had to price in, and futures markets tied to both the Falcons’ season outlook and Robinson’s individual awards case are the first places that reaction is likely to show up.

For a Falcons team that has leaned on Robinson as its offensive engine since 2023, making him the guaranteed centerpiece through the rest of the decade is as much a statement about team direction as it is a financial record. The question now shifts to how quickly the betting market recalibrates around Atlanta’s floor and ceiling with its new highest-paid running back in the league locked in for years to come.