Bijan Robinson just delivered Texas football a recruiting pitch with a $75 million headline attached.
The former Longhorns star agreed to a three-year extension with the Atlanta Falcons that can reach $75 million, with a reported position-record $51 million guaranteed. At roughly $25 million per year, it doesn’t just push the running back market higher. It blows the doors off it.
For Texas, that number matters. Robinson came to Austin as one of the country’s most hyped recruits, played like a star, and has now turned himself into one of the NFL’s most valuable offensive pieces. When Steve Sarkisian and his staff sit across from elite prospects, they now have a clean, powerful example to point to: Texas can set a player up for Sundays and for life-changing money.
Robinson’s first 51 NFL games already told a strong story. He has run for 3,910 yards and 25 touchdowns, averaged 4.9 yards per carry, and added 198 catches for 1,738 yards and nine more scores. That gave him 5,648 total yards from scrimmage before he even signed his second professional contract.
Then he went out and put together a huge 2025 season.
Robinson led the league with 2,298 scrimmage yards, picked up his first All-Pro nod, and finished fourth in Offensive Player of the Year voting. Pro Football Focus credited him with 87 missed tackles forced as a runner and 1,172 rushing yards after contact.
That’s not a back being carried by the line. That’s a back carrying an offense.
Atlanta is paying him like it knows it.
The Falcons have now made major financial commitments to Robinson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts as they build around three explosive skill players. Robinson may be the most important of the trio, especially with Michael Penix Jr. returning from a knee injury and Tua Tagovailoa competing for the starting quarterback job.
Whoever ends up under center, the Falcons know where the offense starts.
Robinson’s extension could also set up a target for Detroit Lions star Jahmyr Gibbs, who went four picks after him in the 2023 NFL Draft. But Robinson got the money first, reset the market, and gave Texas another shiny recruiting weapon without the Longhorns spending a dime.
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Avants rise has made the Sooners backfield picture a little less predictable than many expected, especially with Robinson and Blaylock entering the conversation once healthy. McCullough even drew a comparison to Damien Williams, the former back he coached who eventually grew into a lead role after starting out overlooked, which says plenty about how Oklahoma views Avants path. For a room that looked straightforward a few months ago, the race now feels like one worth watching once camp opens in earnest. [Read more 🡒]