PHILADELPHIA - Sometimes things align. Have the best rushing season in NFL history, get the best running back contract in league lore.
The Eagles’ out of left field, two-year, $41.2 million extension with superstar Saquon Barkley is about much more than the average contract tweak around the league, though.
It exemplifies Philadelphia’s mindset – perhaps on steroids – when it comes to the business side of the game.
Regarding contracts, the Eagles are usually a year ahead of conventional thinking. In the case of Barkley, 28, make that about 14 or 15 months.
Essentially GM Howie Roseman gave Barkley one of the biggest RB contracts and doubled down with the largest ever in the same league year for the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Year, who broke Terrell Davis' quarter-century old single-season record for most rushing yards with 2,504 through Super Bowl LIX.
The Eagles organization trusts its evaluation process with players and likes a forward-looking approach to stay ahead of the competition (think Jordan Mailata, Devonta Smith, and A.J. Brown) and often set the market with star players, something they've recently done with quarterback Jalen Hurts, and left guard Landon Dickerson.
Also understand that Roseman is creating immediate cap space (estimated at nearly $7M in Barkley's case) while giving the player money up front, making both sides of the equation balanced.
The Eagles have never been in the business of paying players for past performance so this is about projecting Barkley as a high-level player for at least the next two seasons, and keeping the window open at a volatile position open through the 2026 season rather than original 2025 revisit.
The proactive nature of the Eagles with top players allows them to set the market where they are comfortable instead of being reactive to a number defined by others.
Also don’t dismiss the calendar with this deal. "Rewarding" Barkley a week ahead of free agency sends a message to every player and agent around the league that it’s a good idea to get into business with Roseman and Co.
In a copycat league, that is what everyone else should be trying to replicate when it comes to the success in Philadelphia.
