Saquon: Other star RBs also 'need to get paid'

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley wants his two-year, $41 million extension to serve as a catalyst for what until recently was a depressed running back market.

"I hope it does what it's supposed to do," Barkley said Monday. "Every other position, the value increases each year.

"For the [Bijan Robinson]s and the [Jahmyr] Gibbses, I know [James] Cook is up, too -- all those guys who are up need to get paid. I hope they beat [the value of my deal]. ... All of those young guys that's underneath me, when there's a time, hopefully they beat it and max it out even more."

The extension, which made Barkley the highest-paid running back in NFL history, includes $36 million guaranteed at signing. Barkley is the first running back making more than $20 million per year and has the ability to earn an additional $15 million in incentives and escalators.

Entering last offseason, the top-paid back in the league, San Francisco's Christian McCaffrey, was making $16 million a year on average. There were just six running backs making more than $10 million a year.

Meanwhile, 16 wide receivers were averaging $20 million or more per season and 13 others stood at $10 million or more, including some who weren't the primary pass-catching option on their squad.

The Eagles signed Barkley last March to a three-year, $38 million contract but rewarded him following his historic 2024 campaign in which he rushed for 2,504 yards over the regular season and the postseason, breaking the single-season record previously held by Terrell Davis, while leading his new team on its Super Bowl title run.

Multiple running backs across the league reached out to Barkley after he reset the market, including Cook, who Barkley said was the most excited since the Buffalo Bills star is eligible for an extension of his own.