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There will be no more holding in for Bijan Robinson in Atlanta. The Falcons and their star running back agreed Tuesday to a three-year extension worth up to $75 million that resets the market for the position, according to league sources with knowledge of the contract who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The deal makes Robinson the highest-paid running back in NFL history with the base value worth $22.25 million per year, and the extension includes $51 million in guaranteed money.
The two sides have been in negotiations for months. And while the Falcons committed more than $290 million to three core players this summer, the deal with Robinson took more time and resulted in Robinson not practicing for the majority of the first week of training camp.
Robinson is the third of Atlanta’s young stars to agree to a long-term deal this offseason, joining wide receiver Drake London, who signed a four-year, $141 million extension on June 8, and tight end Kyle Pitts, who agreed to a three-year, $56 million extension on June 23. The team also secured a long-term deal with guard Matthew Bergeron, who signed a four-year extension with $60 million guaranteed on Aug. 1.
“I’m really excited to help lead this team and the offense to great heights,” Robinson said during the Falcons’ minicamp in mid-June.
Bijan Robinson inks new market-setting deal with Falcons
Josh Kendall
The 24-year-old product of the University of Texas led the NFL with 2,298 all-purpose yards last year, and no player has more than his 5,648 yards from scrimmage in the last three years. Only Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry have more than Robinson’s 3,910 rushing yards in that span.
“I’ve been around some good running backs, but obviously you know how I feel about Bijan,” Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski, who coached Adrian Peterson in Minnesota and Nick Chubb in Cleveland, said. “I would start with just the pro he is. I appreciate how he goes about his business in the meeting room, how he goes about his business on the grass. The physical skill set is obvious off of the tape. Certainly, on the grass, he’s somebody that can affect the game in a multitude of ways, but I would pivot back to just the person that he is and the impact that he has on our roster, our locker room, on a daily basis.”
Robinson was the eighth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, becoming the highest-drafted running back since Barkley was taken second overall by the Giants in 2018. He immediately made enough of a splash in Atlanta that his success paved the way for the Las Vegas Raiders to pick Ashton Jeanty sixth in 2025 and the Cardinals to take Jeremiyah Love third this spring.
The Falcons exercised the fifth-year option on Robinson’s contract earlier this year, which would have kept him with the team at least through the 2027 season, but even then, first-year general manager Ian Cunningham was hopeful of getting a long-term deal done this summer.
This fall, Robinson is hoping to top last year’s career-best numbers, but he’s also hoping to make his first playoff appearance as a pro.
“Individual goals are great, but I’m going to continue to be the guy the team can rely on,” he said. “Like I say every year, I’m just trying to be better than I was last year in all aspects of my game. … Last year was a cool year, but this year I want to be even better.”
Stefanski’s staff will be the third Robinson has played for in his short career.
“You just have to be really adaptable,” Robinson said. “I have learned a lot of different personalities. I’ve seen a lot of different things in this building. I think a lot of them have been great people, great coaches.”
No player has more than Robinson’s 1,003 offensive touches since he joined the league in 2023, and the new coaching staff has already made clear it doesn’t plan on cutting his workload any.
“Bijan loves football,” offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said. “That’s where it starts. What a special human being. He’s eager to do a lot.”
Bijan will be joined in the backfield this year by free-agent addition Brian Robinson.
“He’s a great guy,” Brian Robinson said of Bijan. “He is exactly what you see. He comes to work every day prepared to be his best. It’s no surprise that he plays the way he plays.”
Bijan Robinson’s new deal comes amid his growing international fame, which was highlighted during this summer’s World Cup by his friendships with France’s Kylian Mbappe and Brazil’s Vinicius Jr.
“They are bigger than most celebrities, really all celebrities in America,” Robinson said. “It’s really cool to see how they handle it.”
Robinson and Vinicius have bonded in part through their relationship with celebrity jeweler Leo Khusro, also known as Leo Frost.
“We always text each other after games,” Robinson said. “He watches all our games. He would send me the highlights from the game. It’s cool to hang out with him. He’s such a great dude. He’s a really, really good person. What he does on the field and what I do on the field, there are a lot of similarities. I’m excited to see what he can do in the World Cup.”
Robinson traveled to Italy and France earlier this year to do promotional work for the NFL and himself, and he’ll be in Spain in November for the Falcons game against the Bengals in Madrid, where he plans to reunite with Mbappe, who plays professionally for Real Madrid, as well as two other friends from the Spanish team.
“The life that (the soccer players) live out there and how they go about their business is pretty inspiring,” he said. “They are very organized and team-oriented.”
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