Deadlocked in one of the most notable NFL holdouts of the summer, Melvin Gordon’s agent Damarius Bilbo told ESPN’s Josina Anderson that he requested that the Los Angeles Chargers trade their superstar running back.
The 26-year-old is coming off a season in which he rushed for 885 yards and 10 touchdowns in just 12 games, with 490 receiving yards and four touchdown receptions as well.
The former first round pick playing in the final year of his rookie deal would be earning $5.6 million this season, but is demanding to be paid alongside the highest grossing running backs in the league Todd Gurley ($14.4 million), Le’Veon Bell ($13.1 million), and David Johnson (13.0 million).
Chargers general manager Tom Telesco reportedly was willing to offer Gordon in the range of $10 million per season, which would make him only the fourth running back to hit the double digit millions in annual salary (Devonta Freeman has the fourth highest RB salary at $8.3 million).
Gordon has been absent from Chargers training camp since it began a week ago on Thursday, and will be docked $40,000 for every day he misses.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that the Chargers have already told Gordon and his agent that they’re not going to trade Gordon, and added that this holdout will continue unless Gordon gets a new deal.