NEW ORLEANS — If Saquon Barkley had things his way, he probably would have rushed for 1,000 yards on a five-win team this season and the entire NFL landscape would look different.
Exaggeration? Not at all.
Had the Giants decided to match Barkley’s free-agent contract offer from the Eagles last March, he would’ve re-signed to continue what he started.
Had the Giants upped their own final offer to him, made in July 2023, by about $1.5 million guaranteed over three years, Barkley never would’ve reached free agency, and HBO’s “Hard Knocks” would’ve been boring television. The Eagles’ season might be over.
Instead, Barkley will finish a likely record-setting 2,500-yard rushing season (playoffs included) with the Eagles on Sunday in Super Bowl 2025 on his 28th birthday, while some Giants’ executives remain unconvinced that he truly wanted to be a “Giant for life,” as he so often claimed.
“My message to Giants fans would be, ‘It’s nothing but love,’” Barkley said. “I’d be naive to think that they weren’t supportive to me over the last six years. Obviously a few of them were disappointed with my decision, but the way I look at it, all the things that happened over there and the love I have for them is the reason that I’m able to have the success I’m having now.”
The Giants continue to absorb hits from all corners for going 3-14 after general manager Joe Schoen took charge of letting their best offensive player, best teammate, best jersey-seller and best community activist walk out the door because of a preference to build around since-released quarterback Daniel Jones.
“It’s foolish,” Cowboys star Micah Parsons, one of Barkley’s closest friends, told The Post. “You don’t have a top [draft] pick, a [former] Offensive Rookie of the Year and not built around him because you have a $40 million quarterback. The Eagles have a $50 million quarterback.”
One of Barkley’s longtime dreams (a spot in the Giants’ Ring of Honor) died when another (a Hall of Fame career) was revived by signing with the Eagles.
“I definitely thought about that,” Barkley said. “That’s what you want to do when you come to a place: Leave your legacy, have an impact. Thankful for the first six years I had in New York, but I can still be in [Philadelphia’s] Ring of Honor and be known as a great Eagle.”
This is the inside story of how Barkley wound up crossing sides of a rivalry, as told to The Post by a handful of team and league sources over the past two years.
How it happened
The Giants and Barkley’s agents exchanged at least 15 offers and counters between November 2022 — when the Pro Bowler was fueling a surprise run to the playoffs — and July 2023.
Miscommunication between the sides in the beginning — before Barkley changed representatives — focused negotiations on average per year when the most important number to a running back with a short shelf life is guaranteed money.
Barkley turned down the Giants’ initial offer after considering it while celebrating at Odell Beckham Jr.’s 30th birthday party in Los Angeles. Negotiations were shelved until January.
After originally seeking a four-year deal, Barkley’s largest ask within a three-year framework was north of $40 million (more than $26 million guaranteed), which the Giants countered at $39 million and ($19.5 million guaranteed).
Nevertheless, once the Giants re-signed Jones and franchise-tagged Barkley in March 2023, leverage completely shifted toward the team, and talks stalled for months so cooler heads could prevail.
On the final day that the sides could negotiate under NFL rule until the 2023 season, the Giants offered their highest guarantee of the process ($23 million), Barkley lowered his ask to $24.5 million, and both sides called it quits without any further budging. They essentially agreed on average per year around $11 million.
Barkley played on the one-year, $10.2 million franchise tag, rushed for 952 yards behind one of the worst offensive lines in NFL history, and the Giants finished 6-11.
“He took a big risk,” one source said. “What if he got hurt? Where would he be?”
The Giants’ explanation for all offers interpreted as too low remained consistent over time: The market is the market. This is what running backs are paid. If it was more, we’d pay more.
But, as late as the final week of February 2024, after the NFL Combine, optimism existed from both sides that the partnership could be preserved.
Instead of more haggling, a handshake agreement was reached that the Giants wouldn’t tag Barkley again. In turn, he would give them a chance to match his best free-agent offer after fielding interest at noon March 11.
Schoen expected Barkley to be paid like a running back in a depressed position market. Eagles manager Howie Roseman viewed Barkley like a position-less offensive weapon.
“We were really aggressive with him,” Roseman said. “It wasn’t like we were dating other people. We were trying to get him from the minute the clock struck 12.”
As the Eagles, Packers, Bears and Texans drove the price up, the Giants’ tune changed and the market was deemed too rich, which irked Barkley.
Years of hearing that his market would be soft had sunk in. It was eye-opening that other organizations valued him greater than the one which knew him best.
“Me and my family literally had a sheet. We did pros and cons,” Barkley said. “The only con about Philly was I might get some slack because I played in New York.”
“Some” turned out to be “a lot” at first.
Barkley came “pretty damn close” to signing with the runner-up Bears — some confidantes thought it the wiser move — but the Eagles’ track record of deep playoff runs, the proximity to his Pennsylvania hometown and the possibilities when running behind the NFL’s best offensive line led him to a sign a three-year, $37.75 million contract ($26 million guaranteed) over other deals that were structured differently to look bigger.
A day that began with nervous energy for a small inner circle turned into a celebration. When combined with the franchise tag, Barkley secured $36 million guaranteed over four years.
“For me, it was, ‘Welp, never thought you’d be here.’ Here we go!’ ” Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson said. “I was really surprised, but he made a great impact right away with his character.”
Where it went wrong
Time proved that Barkley never was going to rush for 2,000 yards in New York. And that — with Jones at quarterback and offensive line issues — deep playoff runs would be the exception.
Schoen is a strict believer in matching resource allocation with positional value. He diverted part of the money not spent on Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney (a 2024 First-Team All-Pro for the Packers) to trading for and extending pass-rusher Brian Burns.
The logic tracks in a vacuum.
Except that multiple locker-room sources said Barkley’s vocal leadership in difficult times was missed. If he wasn’t paid for his sacrifices, the reward for doing the right things was muddied.
“There was a time when a lot of people wrote him off,” Parsons said. “I’m happy he made the decision that was going to benefit his future. It was the best thing that ever happened for him.”
The Giants generated the NFL’s fewest amount of 20-yard plays, while Barkley set an NFL record for 60-yard runs.
“I thought they were crazy,” said Nick Gates, a member of Barkley’s rookie class with the Giants who is now an Eagles backup center. “How do you let that type of player go? The offensive line groups I was part of weren’t super-great. We were always ranked bottom-half. He still did pretty well with what he had. It’s cool to see him reach the goals everybody knew he could reach.”
There remains a defiance within some corners of the Giants that any running back could rush for 1,000 yards behind an Eagles offensive line that has sustained greatness for 25 years. Then again, Barkley doubled that number and won NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
“There’s people in that organization that have so much love for me,” Barkley said, “and I have so much love for them.”
With time, the disrespect that Barkley felt has waned. Some of the anger that Giants fans felt at Barkley for choosing the rival has been redirected at the franchise for misreading the situation.
“One thing I think we did show is that if you are an elite player at any position, you can help your team win,” Barkley said of the success he shared with several other running backs who changed teams last offseason. “If you have a chance to have elite players, if you have a chance to draft good players, you probably should do that.”
