Amid the euphoria of being announced as the new cover athlete for Madden 26, having received a 99 rating for the new version of the game and being the first Eagles offensive player to receive such honor, Saquon Barkley has thrown dark light on his future as a National Football League player. He even drew a worrisome comparison of his playing career with that of Barry Sanders.
The Philadelphia Eagles’ running back, who had one of the most historic NFL seasons as they rode to Super Bowl glory, in an interview with Chris Long on the latest edition of “The Green Light” podcast, was asked about his future—if he was the kind of payer that would opt for an early retirement or the one that’ll stick with the game of football until father time breaks him off.
His response to this question was nothing like what was expected. Not after blessing the eyes of NFL fans with a reverse hurdle that keeps making headlines six months after, or after running for an NFL record 2,504 yards in both the regular season and the playoffs, breaking Terrell Davis’ record of 2,476. His response was like one who was coming out of an abysmal season.
“I’ll probably be one of those guys that it’ll be out of nowhere. I’ll probably just wake up one day, whether it’s next year or two years or four years, and just be like, ‘Yeah it’s over,‘” Barkley said. “I don’t think I will ever lose that passion. I’m just a competitor. The competitive nature is always going to be there.”
The comparison with Barry Sanders came next. In 1999, Barry Sanders had one of the most shocking retirements in NFL history after shutting the curtains on his 10-year career with the Detroit Lions, where he made the Pro Bowl 10 times. Sanders retired at the age of 31 after 10 NFL seasons. Barkley, on the other hand, is 28 and is entering his eighth season.
“One of my favorite players of all time, probably my favorite player of all time, is Barry Sanders, so probably similar to that,” Barkley said of how he’ll go out. “Maybe one day it will be out of nowhere. I’ll probably be ballin’ and just be like, ‘Yeah’ and call it quits.”
Sanders retired while he was very much at the top of the game, and Barkley is hinting at following the exact path. For Sanders, retirement came a season after he crossed the 2,000-yard mark. He rushed for 2,053 yards in 1997, played for one more season and called it quits. With Barkley ready to follow suit, all fingers are pointing towards a retirement for Saquon Barkley after the 2025 season.
However, what’s more realistic is that Saquon Barkley’s contract expires after the 2028 season which will be his tenth season. That will be a good time to retire, as he will be 31 by then, and would have completed the expected 10-year span of running backs. The more realistic scenarios is most favorable for both Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles fans.
Notably, Barkley’s two-year $41.2 million contract extension in March made him the highest paid running back in NFL history. And until his contract expires, more playing time means more money.
REUTERS/Mike Segar
