Saquon Barkley's future in New York remains cloudy after sides couldn't agree on a long-term contract by Monday's deadline, according to multiple reports.

The deadline for the franchise-tagged Barkley and Big Blue to come to a multi-year agreement was Monday, meaning the running back can now only play on a one-year deal.

"It is what it is," Barkley tweeted Monday.

After striking a big-money deal with quarterback Daniel Jones in early March, the Giants placed the $10.091 million non-exclusive franchise tag on Barkley, sparking drama-filled offseason negotiations that eventually came up fruitless.

Sides can still negotiate terms of a one-year pact, but a multi-year contract is off the table for 2023.

The Giants' contract negotiations with Barkley did not go smoothly from the start. The Giants made an initial offer during the bye week last November that Barkley never seriously considered, multiple sources told ESPN's Jordan Raanan. The two sides then tabled talks until after the season.

The Giants' offers to Barkley increased earlier this year, reaching a point where it could max out at $14 million per season, sources told Raanan. But the sticking point was guaranteed money and structure. It never got close to his satisfaction.

Once the Giants signed Jones just minutes before the start of the new league year, they instantly used the franchise tag on Barkley. This was always one of the options, according to general manager Joe Schoen. At that point, the Giants took their last offer off the table and talks did not seriously pick up until recently.

Barkley admitted this opened his eyes to the reality that this is a business.

However, he did not like the tag and how the entire process was portrayed publicly, making it known on multiple occasions that the offers were not always how they were being perceived.

"Me getting tagged, was I upset about it? Nobody wants to get tagged," Barkley said last month. "To sit here and say I was frustrated, I was mad, I was upset, what really got me upset was the stories that got leaked out, how misleading they were and how untruthful they were. I feel it was trying to paint a narrative of me, a picture of me, that is not even true. Not even close to being the truth."

Barkley's contention throughout was the way the money was being perceived made him look greedy.

The Giants had never offered near the desired $22.2 million (the combined amount of franchise tags this year and next) as of late last week, a source told Raanan.

With the window closed on a multi-year deal, the question pivots to when Barkley could report.

Having not signed the tender, he's not currently under contract, therefore, not subject to fines for skipping training camp, which begins July 25.

Last month, the 26-year-old did not rule out the possibility he'd consider sitting out the 2023 season without a long-term deal, noting it's a "conversation" to be had once the deadline passed. The last player to sit out an entire season was Le'Veon Bell in 2018.

Barkley could also decide to skip the season's start and report later to avoid missing the entire campaign.

Barkley, 26, finished fourth in the NFL with 1,312 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns last season. The 1,312 yards was a career high. He also tied for the team lead with 57 receptions. He has played in 60 career games over five seasons since being the No. 2 overall pick. He has 4,249 rushing yards, 37 total touchdowns and was named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2018.

As NFL.com's Kevin suggests, there is no question Barkley is critical to Brian Daboll's offense. Not only does he provide home-run ability, his dual-threat capability forces defenses to take note anytime he's on the field, opening up the rest of the offense.

However, the diminishing running back pay scale and Schoen's desire to avoid pushing the top of the market led to the stalemate.

Stay tuned. We'll be watching for more.