Steelers Honored RB Franco Harris Last Year But The Truth Is The NFL Treats Current RB Crop Like 2nd Class Citizens

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been a power running team since they joined the NFL in 1933. They have a rich history of turning fullbacks into primary ball carriers in the NFL like John Henry Johnson, Jerome Bettis and the franchise’s all-time leading rusher in Franco Harris. The Steelers’ top ten rushers in franchise history, except for Willie Parker, Le’Veon Bell, and Dick Hoak, are remarkably similar in style.

During the twentieth century, the NFL was a running back-driven league. Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers used the power sweep with two Hall of Fame running backs to win the first two Super Bowls and a total of five NFL championships in the 1960s. 

The Steelers turned power running into six Lombardi trophies. The Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s relied heavily on Emmitt Smith but the game has evolved, and the running back position is still important, but star halfbacks are not in the modern NFL.

Steelers fans have had almost six months to the day to deal with the loss of a franchise icon in Harris. The number 32 was the third number retired in Steelers’ history, Harris began wearing the number as a tribute to Jim Brown, who might be the best running back in league history. Brown passed away recently at the age of 87, less than 6 months after his chief rival.

Harris grew up in New Jersey and he was not a huge football fan growing up, but he was aware of the hugely popular Cleveland running back. Brown was smashing through the NFL and Harris wanted to emulate him so when he began to play football, there was only one number for him.

“Football was something I never really dreamed about,” Harris said. “The name Jim Brown, I knew. That was one of the first football names that I really became familiar with and so in high school, I took number 32. I tried to get it at Penn State, but someone beat me to it, and then I had it with the Steelers.”

The Japanese believe in the yin and the yang, the two complementary forces that make up all aspects of life.  Each whole contains its opposite and the number 32 in Cleveland and Pittsburgh clearly illustrates that concept. Brown and Harris could not have been more opposite as people, but they were both undeniable forces on the football field. Both men carried teams to NFL championships and impacted their respective cities like no one else. 

Brown retired because of a contract dispute in 1966. He was two years removed from leading the Cleveland Browns to their last NFL championship and seemed to be at the peak of his powers. Brown was an outspoken activist and had a budding acting career so at the time, he walked away with no regrets from a very different NFL. He earned substantially more as an actor than he ever did on the football field.

Steelers Franco Harris Was More Than Just 1 Immaculate Memory In Pittsburgh

Harris exploded onto the NFL scene when he scored the first postseason touchdown in Steelers history in spectacular fashion with the Immaculate Reception. In typical Harris fashion, he was not an arrogant celebrity. Harris simply did his job and won Super Bowls. It wasn’t until Harris broke his record for consecutive 1,000-yard seasons that Brown began a public smear campaign against the Steelers’ version of number 32.

Brown was relentless in his criticism of Harris' running style, going as far as threatening to come out of retirement and endorsing Walter Payton as the man he preferred to break his rushing record. Brown got what he wanted. Harris retired and ended up just short of his rushing record. Payton smashed Brown’s mark by over 4,000 yards and touched off a new golden age of running backs.

Smith eventually passed Payton with an unthinkable 18,355 yards rushing and Barry Sanders put up over 15,000 yards in a spectacular career that he chose to end early. Brown has fallen out of the top 10 in all-time rushing yards as Harris has slipped to 15th on the list. Frank Gore managed to climb into third place with 16,000 yards and will be a fascinating case when he is eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Top running backs in 2023 are being used for four to six seasons and very few get a second contract. Quarterbacks are being paid over 50 million dollars per year in the new market and top receivers are getting 20-30 million. Running backs are still counted on to move the chains and punch the ball in the end zone, but they are lucky to top 10 million in yearly salary. The Steelers will have a very interesting decision in 2024 when Najee Harris is eligible for a contract extension.

Only eight running backs are due to make more than 10 million in 2023. Only two will make over 15 million with Christian McCaffrey being the top paid back at 16 million per year which would be good for 31st on the wide receiver list. The NFL has devalued the memory of the great running back by treating the current crop like easily replaceable pawns. Teams that do take a running back in the first round are routinely derided for overpaying for ball carries.

Things change in the NFL. It is a watered-down passing league and after Adrian Peterson and Derrick Henry, it is possible that no other back will be elected to the Hall of Fame. The career arc will be too short and analytics-driven Hall of Fame voters will just say they are not as good as the backs of the past. Isn’t it funny that every other position is better in the modern game, except for halfbacks?

Player safety initiatives are designed to take care of quarterbacks and wide receivers, but it seems as if the rest of the league is expendable. Especially running backs even though every analyst is eager to tell you they are a dime a dozen. The Steelers retired the number 32 for Harris on Christmas Eve and the most famous 32 in NFL history passed away a few months later.

Brown and Harris are gone and contrary to modern analytics, they were not faceless interchangeable spare parts. The NFL's careless disregard for the position, is damaging the history of the league.

What do you think Steeler Nation? Are you ok with running backs being second-class citizens in the NFL? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.