Full disclosure: I root for the team whose 40-year-old fragile quarterback is a know-it-all who hates vaccines, spins conspiracy theories and may be delusional enough to think that this time next year he could be vice president of the
United States. That means I might not be the expert on matters involving the
New York Giants. Still, I’m left with the question: What’s up with all the Saquon Barkley hate? Last week, the popular Giants running back, who had professed his love for the team and his desire to retire as a Giant when his career ends, signed a free agent contract with the hated
Philadelphia Eagles. Then all hell broke loose. Barkley, 27, was quickly branded a turncoat, and derided morning and night on sports radio. He was deemed a public enemy, and one local talk show host dramatically said Barkley was “dead to me.” Even the newspaper where I work had a front-page headline that called Barkley a “traitor.” A traitor? The Barkley critics have taken too many blows to the head. It was the Giants who turned their backs on him. Barkley, the face of the Giants for six years, was everything a team would want in a player. He was talented, hard working, upstanding and unselfish. In 2022, after a stellar season in which Barkley totaled 1,650 yards from scrimmage, the team used its franchise tag on him instead of rewarding him with a better contract or letting him seek a better payday somewhere else. Meanwhile, the team signed middle-of-the-pack quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million extension. Barkley decided to end a brief holdout and play under a lousy contract, and do what was best for the team and his family. “After having conversations and really
BREAKING it down, the only way that I’m going to make a change or do something that’s going to benefit myself and my family is doing what I do best,” Barkley said at the time. “That’s showing up, playing the game I love, and do it at a high level.” That Barkley was much more cordial than the Barkley who took the bait and responded to searing criticism about signing with the Eagles. After WFAN radio host and former Giants running back Tiki Barber made the “dead to me” comment, Barkley went after him like he was a linebacker trying to blitz his quarterback. “You been a hater since I got to New York,” Barkley posted on X, formerly known as
Twitter. “Don’t smile in my face when you see me.” According to reports, Barkley, who was looking for a long term deal with guaranteed money — as is every player in the
NFL — signed with Philadelphia a three year, $37.5 million contract with incentives that could make the deal ultimately worth $46.75 million. Reports said $26 million is guaranteed. There are two knocks against Barkley that he can’t shake: He got injured a lot, and he wasn’t a quarterback. He was taken second in the 2018 draft by a team that desperately needed a quarterback. Fans and the media seemed to hold that against him the entire time he was here. Barkley’s contract is the equivalent of a touchdown in a league that has placed less value on the running back position. It’s clear the Giants never intended to pay him what he thought he was worth. And that’s fine. It’s a business. But let’s not hate on Barkley for doing with his contract what he wasn’t able to do much with the Giants. Win.