The Philadelphia Eagles are signing running back Saquon Barkley to a two-year contract extension worth $41.2 million, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The agreement will keep Barkley in Philly through the end of the 2028 season.
The deal will make Saquon the highest-paid running back in NFL history, valuing him at $20+ million annually. The contract also includes a $36 million guarantee.
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. The deal makes Barkley the NFL’s first $20 million+ per-year running back. Barkley also has the ability to earn an… pic.twitter.com/h5iEf5IWe2
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 4, 2025
“It’s very obvious when you watch the tape how good of a player he is, right? But the things that he has that he brings to our football team as far as his leadership, his work ethic. He’s an awesome teammate. Those are the things that make him very special,” said Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni. “And that’s pretty special that I’m saying that even more after you see him jumping over guys backwards and all that stuff.”
Last year, Barkley rushed for 2,504 yards during the regular season and playoffs, breaking the single-season record previously held by Hall of Famer Terrell Davis. He also helped the Eagles win their first Super Bowl in seven years.
Barkley earned this
Most NFL fans and analysts will argue that it is a bad idea to give “older” running backs long-term contracts, but the Eagles completely disproved that theory last season. I think it’s fair to say that the addition of Barkley allowed Philly to get over the hump and win another Super Bowl. I would go as far as to say that the Eagles wouldn’t have come close to winning Super Bowl LIX if they hadn’t signed Saquon Barkley.
I was one of Barkley’s biggest supporters all season long. I said many times that he was the best player in the 2025 playoffs and that winning the Super Bowl cemented his 2024-25 campaign as the best season ever by a running back. I’m now going to take it a step further and say that Saquon Barkley was the best player in the National Football League last year. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen might have been the NFL’s MVP, but I would argue that Barkley was more valuable to his team.
For one thing, the MVP award is a joke because it is pretty much reserved for quarterbacks. 17 of the last 18 NFL MVPs have been quarterbacks, with the lone exception being Adrian Peterson, who won the award in 2012. All Peterson had to do to earn the MVP award was lead his team to the playoffs while rushing for 2,000+ yards less than 12 months after tearing his ACL and his MCL. Outside of that one season, every other MVP winner has been a quarterback.
Overflow! Grateful for the Eagles Organization , grateful for my team, grateful for the amazing fans in Philly. Fly Eagles Fly 🦅 @EdwardMBerry 😤 pic.twitter.com/q2u4gr9IX2
— Saquon Barkley (@saquon) March 4, 2025
Additionally, I think that the Bills would have had just as much success with the second-best quarterback in the NFL, but that would not have been the case for the Eagles. The second-best QB last season was either Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow, depending on who you talked to. For the sake of this argument, I am going to say that it was Jackson. Had he been the Bills’ quarterback, I still think he would have led Buffalo to at least ten victories and won some playoff games.
Meanwhile, Derrick Henry was the second-best running back in the NFL last year, but he was not nearly as explosive as Barkley in the passing game. Henry only had 19 receptions during the regular season and the playoffs. On the other hand, Barkley made 46 receptions for 353 yards. Just the threat of Barkley in the passing game makes him significantly more valuable than Derrick Henry.
At the end of the day, though, I believe Saquon Barkley doesn’t care about winning MVP awards. The only thing he cares about is winning Lombardi trophies, which he should be able to do now that he’ll be in Philly for at least another four years.
