February 9th will not only mark the day of Super Bowl LIX, where the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will face off for the NFL title, but also the birthday of the Eagles’ new superstar: Saquon Barkley. After capping one of only 9 individual seasons in NFL history where a player has clocked 2000+ rushing yards in the regular season, Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles seek to beat the Kansas City Chiefs for Super Bowl glory. Just a year ago however, Barkley finished his 6th season with the then 6-11 New York Giants. Since having been selected by the Giants in the 2018 NFL Draft 2nd overall, the Giants had only won one playoff game, despite Barkley’s multiple 1000+ yard seasons up to that point. Although he was riddled with injuries throughout his time in New York (which hampered his ability to produce more consistent and team-altering performances), it was undeniable that Barkley was a cornerstone of the Giants.
However, as the 2024 Free Agency period approached, the Giants decided to let Barkley go into free agency (where all teams in the league were able to give contract offers to Barkley), where he was eventually signed by the Giant’s divisional rivals, the now Super Bowl bound Philadelphia Eagles.
But why did the Giants let go of Barkley?
With the Giants unable to settle a deal during the offseason with Barkley in 2023 and 2024, the General Manager of the Giants Joe Schoen allowed for Barkley to “test the market” of free agency, with a potential offer in return that would match the interest he would receive. However, when all was said and done, the Philadelphia Eagles were willing to offer a $37.5 million/3 yr. contract, which Saquon accepted. It seems strange looking back that the Giants organization was not willing to offer Barkley more money to remain in New York, so why were the Giants unable to meet Barkley’s demands?
In basic terms, Schoen’s spending philosophy is based on the idea of positional value. While many of the NFL’s top paid players are quarterbacks, (with the top 14 contract values of current NFL players being quarterbacks), running backs such as Barkley are not paid nearly as much. This is due to the idea that a team’s ability to pass is able to produce more scoring than their run game, running backs are more injury prone due to the high work rate and physicality of the position, and there are many more viable and serviceable RBs than found in other positions on the field. With that in mind, Schoen and the Giants front office were much less willing to dish out a large contract over Barkley, who also had past injuries and was reaching the age of 27 (regarded as the peak year of production for elite running backs). With hindsight being 20/20, we now know that QB Daniel Jones was unable to meet expectations for his eventual $160 million/4 yr. contract, eventually being released from the Giants. However, the Giants’ front office at the time believed that Jones had the potential to become a reliable QB1 if surrounded by the right players, especially based off of his notable leading of the Giants to a playoff berth and shock Wild Card victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the 2023 playoffs.
As captured in HBO’s documentary series Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants, Joe Schoen stated in a discussion about contract priorities that “[we’re] paying Daniel Jones $40 million [a year]” with his new contract, so it made much more sense for the Giants to “upgrade the offensive line” rather than “hand the ball off to a $12 million [a year] back” in the form of Saquon Barkley. With the funds saved in not signing Barkley to a lucrative contract, the Giants would be able to spend more of their salary cap on their offensive line and receiving options, which would in theory elevate the level of the Giants’ offense if Daniel Jones were to have had a breakout season. And since dependable running backs get paid much less than dependable quarterback play in the NFL, the Giants would also be able to purchase running backs that would support a serviceable run game with any remaining cap space. This logic eventually led to the signings of many Offensive Linemen, alongside the pickups of RB Devin Singletary, WR Isaiah McKenzie, and drafting of WR Malik Nabers with their 6th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Although we now know that the Giants went 3-14 with their revised squad, it’s important to note that Barkley alone wouldn’t magically turn the Giants into a playoff contender, nevertheless to the extent that the Eagles are performing right now. The main explanation as to why Barkley had such a breakout season this year is the quality of his current squad. Already a consistent playoff qualifier since 2021, the Eagles possess arguably the best Offensive Line in the NFL, while the Giants are within the bottom 10 of most consensus Offensive Line rankings (a crucial part of a team’s run game). Alongside incredible production from the Eagles’ passing game, Barkley has had many opportunities for large and explosive run plays, such as his statement 60-yd touchdown in the first play of the NFC Championship game vs. the Commanders, which eventually mounted to a 55-23 victory, with Barkley recording 3 TDs on the day.
With Barkley currently leading odds in winning Offensive Player of the Year through his 2000+ yard rushing season, and the future of the Giants remaining bleak post-Barkley, it is reasonable to be frustrated with some decisions the NY Giants have made as an organization. In hindsight, however, the departure of Barkley from NY football was inevitable. Due to the NFL’s current player economics system, alongside the organizational management and priorities of the New York Giants, Saquon Barkley has had one of the greatest seasons by a running back in the history of the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles. All we can do now this Super Bowl Sunday is witness what unfolds before us.
