De’Von Achane wants a new contract.
The Miami Dolphins want to re-sign De’Von Achane.
So, what’s the hold-up? To answer that, we need to look at the bigger picture.
In 2025, Achane rushed for 1,350 yards and eight touchdowns, and caught 67 passes for 480 yards and four receiving touchdowns. A stellar year by all accounts, and one that established himself among the NFL’s best running backs.
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But while his production is elite, his salary lags far behind. As a 3rd-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft, Achane’s base salary is just over $1 million per year. This is great news for the Dolphins, as they’re essentially getting Top-5 running back production for very little money. Of course, that likely doesn’t sit well with Achane, who is deserving of a much larger contract. And though he’s remained cordial and showed up for the team’s voluntary off-season workout program in April as a gesture of good faith, his patience is likely dwindling by the day. So, again, what’s the hold-up?
The answer, as is so often the case in today’s NFL, comes down to money. For the past decade and change, the NFL has treated running backs as a replaceable commodity. For better or for worse, the league sees running backs as injury-prone, offensive-line dependent, and seldom long-lasting. This philosophy has kept a ceiling on running back salaries.
In fact, of the last 17 teams to win the Super Bowl, only one team had a running back with a cap hit percentage greater than 5%—the 2013 Seahawks and Marshawn Lynch. In 2024, Saquon Barkley helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl with a cap hit of just 1.5%. And last season, the Seahawks paid Kenneth Walker III just 0.9% of their overall cap in route to their Super Bowl victory.
Of course, these numbers are not to be taken as gospel. Had the San Francisco 49ers won the 2022 Super Bowl instead of narrowly losing to the Kansas City Chiefs, they would done so while paying Christian McCaffery nearly $20 million per year. And though the Eagles paid Barkley just 1.5% of their total cap space in 2024, they are currently set to owe Barkley $50 million in base salary as late as 2034.
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Regardless, the logic is generally sound—if you want to win a Super Bowl, don’t overpay for a running back.
As it relates to the Dolphins, general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has only just started to rebuild the team. Overpaying for Achane would go against the principles he’s acted on so far, which are to get younger and cheaper as soon as possible. It’s worth noting that the Dolphins are short on cap space in 2026, but are projected to have the 2nd-most cap space in 2027 (as it stands).
As per Spotrac, Achane is projected to sign a 4-year contract worth $59.1 million ($14.8 million per year) extension this offseason. This would make him the 5th-highest running back in the league, nearly $6 million behind McCaffery who leads the list. So, with all this in mind, the question is simple—is De’Von Achane a Top-5 running back in the league?
If the answer is yes, the Dolphins will likely re-sign Achane and don’t look back. If the answer is no, or there’s even a sliver of doubt, the Dolphins may not pay Achane what he wants. Achane knows his value. The Dolphins have their own number in mind.
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The question is, who caves first?
Would you re-sign Achane? How much would you pay him? Let us know down below!
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