The whopping dollars allocated to UFA guards this offseason stands to impact teams’ negotiations with impending free agents at a position that’s seen its value rise. Justin Pugh is entering his contract year and looks ready to cash in after seeing players with similar profiles do so in March.

The fifth-year Giants guard described himself as “in the driver’s seat” for a major payday.

“Trust me, I noticed,’’ Pugh said of the contracts the high-end guard UFAs signed two months ago, via Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post. “Some of the guards are really good players who have not made Pro Bowls, guys that have missed significant time and have gotten paid a lot of money. I know where I sit in that hierarchy. I also know the Giants need to do right by me, too.

“I’ve gone out there and done everything they’ve ever asked me to do. So I know my worth. I’m going to go out there and play my best season of football and hopefully the Giants say, ‘Let’s pay him what he deserves.‘”

Pugh made it clear he wants to stay in New York, but a second contract obviously will cost the Giants. There are now five guards whose deals average eight figures per year, with Kevin Zeitler and Joel Bitonio‘s Browns pacts moving that figure from three to five in March, and two other guards — T.J. Lang and Ronald Leary — signed for at least $9MM AAV this offseason. The 26-year-old Pugh has not made a Pro Bowl, but neither have the aforementioned four guards who signed high-value deals.

The Giants and Pugh have discussed an extension as far back as last summer, but the former right tackle upped his value with a season that saw him rank as Pro Football Focus’ No. 16 overall guard. Big Blue also has center Weston Richburg set to hit free agency, leaving a franchise that’s allocated most of its cash toward helping its defense over the past two offseasons with a potentially tough situation to navigate.

A one-time first-round pick out of Syracuse, Pugh stands to play on a fifth-year option worth $8.8MM in 2017. He joins the likes of Gabe Jackson, Andrew Norwell and Jack Mewhort as the next group of guards who stand to be paid big dollars in a league that’s seen developing offensive linemen become much tougher due to the increase of spread offenses in college and the current CBA limit practice time.

“That is the goal,’’ Pugh said, via Cannizzaro, of signing a long-term Giants contract. “I never want to leave New York City. I started something here, and I want to finish it. We started 0-6 my first season. From where we started to where we’re at now, I feel like I have something to prove in New York City. I have a lot left to show. I have a ring I have to win. I have to get Eli [Manning] his third, and I have to get my first. That’s all I’m thinking about.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.