The Chargers and running back Austin Ekeler have agreed to a deal that will see Ekeler play out the final year of his contract in Los Angeles.
Ekeler and the Chargers agreed to revise his contract to add close to $2 million in incentives this season, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
There’s no word on what Ekeler has to do to earn those incentives, but he is apparently satisfied that it’s something doable, and the team now has a happy camper.
Ekeler hadn’t been participating in voluntary offseason work and had indicated he’d like the team to trade him somewhere that he’d get paid more. Ekeler is due a $6.25 million base salary this season, and now he can earn incentives on top of that.
Realistically, given the way the running back position has been devalued in the NFL, it seems unlikely that Ekeler was going to get a better deal anywhere else. And so he’ll play out the 2023 season for the Chargers and hope to play well enough to cash in as a free agent in March.