Saquon Barkley not only earned his original contract with his 2000-yard season, he earned a new one. The Eagles just rewarded him with a 2-year extension worth $41.2 million, which will make him the first RB to ever be paid more than $20 million per-year. Adam Schefter was the first to report the new deal.
Barkley had one of the best seasons for an RB ever. Had the team not made the decision to sit him for rest in the final week, he likely would have broken Eric Dickerson's 40-year-old single-season rushing record. But Barkley did go on to break the record for most yards in a regular+post-season. After rushing for 2005 yards and 13 TDs in the regular season, he added 499 yards and 5 TDs in the post-season.
That included two long TD runs vs the Rams, and 1 long TD run vs the Commanders to open up the Commanders game that set the tone for what turned into a blowout.
He was less effective in the Super Bowl, but that was because the Chiefs sold out so hard to stop the run that Jalen Hurts was able to easily tear apart what had been a very good Chiefs secondary before that game.
He is not only one of the greatest free-agent acquisitions in Eagles history, but he is one of the greatest in sports history period. There are a lot of reasons the Eagles won it all, but Saquon Barkley without a doubt tops the list. And if you win a Super Bowl for your team, that itself is worth whatever money your team decides to pay you.
Is Saquon Barkley Deal About Moving Money Around?
Obviously this deal represents a well-deserved reward for Barkley. But with Howie Roseman, you know it is always about more than that.
We don't have the official breakdown of the deal yet. But it will undoubtedly move money further down the road, and open up some cap space for this season. Making it more possible to not just keep their own free agents like Zack Baun, but maybe chase after new players to join the team.
