Melvin Gordon unsure if he's earned a big-money deal

This season hasn't gone as Melvin Gordon had planned.

The Los Angeles Chargers running back held out during the first three weeks of the campaign in search of a new contract that never came. He returned to the team in Week 4, hoping to prove his worth in the last year of his deal. But both Gordon and the team have underachieved.

Gordon has recorded 468 rushing yards in eight games and topped 100 yards in a contest just once for the 4-8 Chargers. With that production, the two-time Pro Bowler isn't sure he's proven he deserves to be paid like a top running back when he enters free agency this offseason.

"I don't know, man. It's hard to look and say you warrant anything when you're losing. I just have to do my job. No one knows their situation," Gordon said to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

"It's the business side of things. I don't know if I'll be here or somewhere else. Hopefully, it is here," the 26-year-old continued while speaking about the only franchise he's known.

"It kind of sucks because a lot of the goals I wanted to reach, individually and as a team, will not be attained this year," he added. "It's unfortunate. A lot of hard work, in a sense, is wasted."