Not everything has to be about football with the Philadelphia Eagles leading up to Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs on February 9.
Sometimes, we need to make room for love. It is the City of Brotherly Love, right?
Philadelphia’s NFL All-Pro running back, Saquon Barkley, broke some big news about his personal life before the Super Bowl when he told PEOPLE Magazine’s Natasha Dye on February 2 that he was engaged to longtime girlfriend Anna Congdon.
“I can’t be the athlete I am and have the success I have so in my career without the help of her,” Barkley told PEOPLE. “She’s been super helpful and always has my back, not only in football but throughout life there’s a lot that goes on. But as we continue to grow and mature and go through life together, we continue getting closer and continue to get even better … And it’s a beautiful thing because we have two amazing children that we were raised it and we just sit back and laugh sometimes when they’re over there playing and just smile and think about where everything started.”
Barkley and Congdon began dating when they were students at Penn State in 2017. Their first child, daughter Jada, was born in April 2018. — the same month Barkley was selected No. 2 overall by the New York Giants in the 2018 NFL draft. Their son, Saquon Jr., was born in September 2022.
Barkley’s birthday is Super Bowl Sunday — he’ll turn 28 years old on February 9.
Barkley Authors Season for the Ages in Philly
Barkley was named NFL All-Pro after becoming just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season. Barkley famously signed a 3-year, $37.75 million free agent contract with the Eagles after the Giants deemed the price for the star running back too high.
The Eagles finished the season with a 14-3 record and earned the No. 2 seed in the NFC Playoffs, but Barkley missed out on being named a unanimous All-Pro by just 2 votes, receiving 48 out of 50 first place votes. Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry received the 2 votes that didn’t go to Barkley.
Barkley had a real shot at breaking Los Angeles Rams running back Eric Dickerson’s single-season NFL rushing record of 2,105 yards but chose to sat out the regular-season finale against the Giants in a game that had no impact on playoff seeding.
“”At the end of the day, I don’t care for putting the team as risk,” Barkley told NBC Sports Philadelphia on January 2. “(Nick Sirianni) is the head coach for a reason. He makes the decisions and whatever decision he wanted to make, I let him know if you want me to play, I’m going to go out there and make sure I get it. If we don’t, I’m OK with that too.”
Eagles-Chiefs is Rematch of Super Bowl LVII
It’s the second time in 3 seasons the Chiefs and Eagles have met in the Super Bowl — the Chiefs won the first matchup in Super Bowl LVII, 38-35, on February 12, 2023 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The Chiefs are trying to become the first team to win 3 consecutive Super Bowls — no team that won 2 consecutive Super Bowls had ever made it back to play in the Super Bowl to try and win a third consecutive time.
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