The Philadelphia Eagles aren’t letting Saquon Barkley go anywhere.
The franchise made a historic move with the Super Bowl champion and NFL All-Pro running back on March 4, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting on a historic new contract for Barkley, who became just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in 2024.
“Eagles are rewarding Saquon Barkley with a two-year, $41.2 million contract extension that makes him the highest-paid running back in NFL history, per sources,” Schefter wrote on his official X account on March 4. “The deal makes Barkley the NFL’s first $20 million+ per-year running back. Barkley also has the ability to earn an additional $15 million in incentives and escalators. The deal includes $36 million fully guaranteed at signing. The Eagles are taking the rare step of extending Barkley one year into his three-year deal — and in the same league year in which they signed him to the initial contract.”
Barkley proved to be the missing piece for the Eagles in 2024 on their run to the Super Bowl, where they dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in a 40-22 win in which they had a 34-0 lead at one point. The Barkley-less Eagles lost to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl just 2 years earlier.
The Eagles signed Barkley to a 3-year, $37.75 million in March 2024 after he spent the first 6 seasons of his career with the New York Giants.
Barkley reacted to the new of his new deal on his official Instagram account.
“Overflow!” Barkley wrote. “Grateful for the Eagles Organization , grateful for my team, grateful for the amazing fans in Philly. Fly Eagles Fly.”
Reactions to Barkley’s New Deal on Social Media
Reactions to Barkley’s historic new deal came flowing in swift and fast on social media — some even taking shots at the Giants, who famously made the decision to let Barkley sign with another team as a free agent on an episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” documentary series.
“Organizations fail players as much as/more than players fail organizations,” ESPN’s Louis Riddick wrote on his official X account. “See one… Saquon Barkley… before he joined Philly, and now after.”
“Saquon Barkley has: Set the Eagles’ single-season rushing yards record … Set the NFL record for scrimmage yards in a season … Won his first Super Bowl … Become the highest-paid RB in the NFL,” The Athletic’s Diana Russini wrote on her official X account. “All in the span of a year.”
“That’s simply a remarkable piece of business,” Philly Sports Network’s Liam Jenkins wrote on his official X account. “Saquon Barkley is going absolutely nowhere and the eagles reward the most gifted running back this generation to keep him here They also save immediate cap space in doing so.”
“Regardless of cap or conversations about roster flexibility. This is so well deserved. Saquon Barkley did more than just rack up historic numbers… his impact within the organization was critical in just his 1st year. He deserves the (bag),” ESPN’s Kevin Negandhi posted on his official X account. “(General Manager) Howie Roseman and (the Eagles) did him right.”
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