Giants fully commit to Saquon Barkley with $31M guaranteed

The Giants have shown their commitment to Saquon Barkley. Now it’s up to the running back from Penn State to prove he’s worth it.

The Giants signed Barkley to a four-year, fully guaranteed contract worth $31.2 million. The deal includes a $20.76 million signing bonus with $15 million paid immediately, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport, the first to report the signing.

The second overall pick in the draft signed his contract Sunday when rookies, quarterbacks and selected veterans reported for training camp at the club’s training facility in East Rutherford. Veterans arrive for their first full practice Wednesday. The guaranteed package is unprecedented for the Giants and unusual for a rookie running back who hasn’t taken a snap in the National Football League.

Former Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress marvels at the contracts today’s players can command.

“The game’s changing,” Burress told The Post recently. “Players are changing. I’m happy for the guys. They go out and earn it. Nobody knows how tough it is when you’re down on that field. It’s good it’s changing with guaranteed contracts and things of that nature. The guys are definitely earning it. You can’t say that they’re not.”

The addition of Barkley gives the Giants (3-13 last season) potentially one of the game’s most explosive offenses with the return to health of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who missed 12 games last season with a broken ankle. Add wide receiver Sterling Shepard and tight end Evan Engram to the mix, and the Giants’ only real concern is with whether there are enough footballs to go around.

Barkley will get his share of opportunities. He rushed for 3,843 yards and 43 touchdowns at Penn State, while catching 102 passes for eight TDs. At 6-foot, 233 pounds, he averaged 145.7 total yards per game over three seasons.

“I think everybody likes to win ballgames,” Shepard said. “So as long as we’re doing that everybody will be happy. Nobody wants to have the kind of season like we had last year. The ultimate goal is to make it to the big game. When you have weapons like this it should be fairly easy if you take care of business. I think that’s where everybody’s head is.”

The Giants had previously signed four of their five other draft picks, including OG Will Hernandez of UTEP (second round); OL Lorenzo Carter of Georgia (third round); DT B.J. Hill of North Carolina State (third round) and quarterback Kyle Lauletta of Richmond (fourth round). As of late Sunday, DT R.J. McIntosh, a fifth-round selection who has been sidelined with a thyroid condition, remained the only unsigned draft choice.

Giants head coach Pat Shurmur brought the rookies, quarterbacks and a few veterans in early to give them a head start on camp.

“I’ve done this in the past,” he said. “It is a great way for the rookies to get a lot more reps. It is a good way for the quarterbacks to get going. Those can be a very productive two days.”

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