Over the past few weeks, Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler has made it clear that he thinks he’s worth more than his current contract, and it sounds like he’s frustrated that the team is unwilling to negotiate with him.
During an interview on SiriusXM this week, Austin Ekeler said he felt like he got “punched in the face” when the Chargers refused to negotiate a contract extension with him.
“I kind of got punched in the face when the Chargers basically said we don’t want to talk about extensions any more. This is an organization I continue to rise and hit new heights in,” Ekeler said according to Pro Football Talk. “That’s how it felt. It felt like, Wow. This was the first time in my career with them I felt disrespected by my own organization. It sucks. I want to be a Charger. I want to be a Charger. I want to be there and it sucks because it’s like, let’s get something done.”
Ekeler acknowledged that he is still under contract with the team and will play for the Chargers if he does not receive a new contract, but he’s still holding out hope that the two sides can come to a deal.
Yes, I do have one more year on my contract, absolutely, but for them to want to allow me to be a free agent next year, maybe we’ll get something done throughout the year, who knows how it’s going to play out, but that’s how I’m feeling right now,” Ekeler said. “We don’t have insight into how they’re thinking because they’re just like, ‘Nah, we don’t want to talk anymore.’”
