Following a historic season where he became the ninth running back ever to rush for 2,000 yards, the Philadelphia Eagles rewarded Saquon Barkley with a record-breaking extension.
Just one year into his three-year, $38 million deal, the Eagles gave Barkley a two-year, $41 million extension, making him the first $20 million-a-year running back in NFL history.
In his first season with the Eagles, Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards, scored 15 total touchdowns, averaged 125.3 rushing yards per game, became a first-team All-Pro for the first time in his career, captured the Offensive Player of the Year award, and led the Eagles to their second Super Bowl championship in franchise history.
However, one NFL analyst criticized the extension.
NFL analyst calls Philadelphia Eagles giving Saquon Barkley extension ‘bizarre’
ESPN’s Seth Walder took issue with the extension, calling it “bizarre.”
“It was an odd deal because it was so unnecessary. Barkley had two years left on his contract. And in his new deal, the Eagles handed him an additional $22 million in fully guaranteed money in exchange for… almost nothing. Those extra years come in his age-30 and age-31 seasons, extremely late in the career of a running back,” Walder writes.
He continues: “I understand Barkley might have needed placating with a little more money after his incredible 2024 performance, but the Eagles went above and beyond here, and it could pretty easily backfire if his play falls off.”
Barkley had the most rushing attempts (345) and touches (378) of his career in 2024. However, the Eagles plan to scale back Barkley’s usage as they will rely on Will Shipley more during games to give Barkley rest and not overuse him.
