Saquon Barkley’s bitterness toward the New York Giants and the business of the NFL shows through loud and clear in the new “SAQUON” documentary debuting Thursday morning on Amazon Prime Video. And, yes, the video was timed to coincide with the Giants facing the Philadelphia Eagles Thursday night on Prime.
Barkley’s belief that the Giants were just trying to use him up before sending him on his way was crystal clear in a phone conversation he had after a 35-carry game against the Houston Texans in 2022, when his contract had become front and center.
He called a conversation he had with the Giants prior to that game “a joke.”
“They literally spit in my face,” Barkley said. “And then give me the ball 35 times. They really don’t appreciate me. They’re literally just trying to run me into the dirt, get what they can and hopefully something bad happens so you can go somewhere else.”
Barkley did, of course, go somewhere else.
Here is another line from Barkley that indicated his frustration with the Giants:
“They just make me want to do some s— that’s not in my character … they keep telling me I’m the best running back in the NFL. So, pay me like I’m the best running back in the NFL.
“The game pushes you to be someone you’re not. They say don’t take business personal. But, it is personal. Everybody wants to be wanted. Whether you’re a 6-year-old kid or whether you’re a 27-year-old NFL star.”
Here are some of the takeaways from the 90-minute documentary, which I was able to preview on Wednesday.
Mara: Trade “makes no sense for us”
At one point, just minutes before the negotiating window ended and Barkley would be forced to sign the franchise tag or sit out, he point-blank asked owner John Mara if he would allow GM Joe Schoen to trade him. The answer was no.
“No, Saquon. I’m not gonna do that,” Mara said. “That makes no sense for us. To be honest with you, it’s not going to be in your long-term best interest to do that. There’s no way that I would allow him to trade you at this point, no. I’m just being honest with you. You are too valuable to this franchise.”
Barkley’s closed eyes and body language on hearing that told you how he felt.
Mara told Barkley “we can agree to disagree on the numbers” but that “we’re going over and above.”
Barkley told his agent, Ed Berry, that “I feel trapped.”
”Are they trying to actually get this done?”
Throughout the two offseasons the Giants and Barkley discussed a contract, it was clear that Barkley never really believed the Giants wanted to get a long-term deal with him.
That was clear after the Giants tagged him in 2022, when the two sides tried to work out a deal before the deadline that would force Barkley to play on the tag.
“All this is is the principle. I would sign for $11 million dollars, $10 million dollars if it was operated a whole different way,” Barkley said.
“Are they trying to actually get this done?
“Running backs have the shortest life span, which is not false. But, they’ll give you the ball 300 times and then say we can’t pay because of wear and tear on your body.”
A dark place
Barkley remembers being in a bad place emotionally right before he tore up his knee against the Chicago Bears in 2021. He was angry after Giants legend Tiki Barber had said that Barkley “might not be an every down back” b/c of pass protection issues and that “He doesn’t want to hit anybody. He’s a big man who wants to play small.”
“I was in a place where I was not playing the game for the love of it.,” Barkley said. I was gonna force a great performance the next week. I even thought about buying a Tiki Barber jersey and wearing a Tiki Barber jersey after I go for 200 yards. All those idiotic and immature things were running through my head at the time. I’m gonna have the best game of my life.“
Then, the injury happened.
“I was just crying,” Barkley said. “I just wanted to throw up. I had to sit in the shower and just let hot water run down me for a good 20 minutes”
How much did Saquon actually want?
At one point in the documentary, Barkley was clear that he felt like the best running back in the league and should be paid accordingly.
Barkley and GM Joe Schoen at one point went back and forth during a phone conversation with Barkley saying he wanted $14-14.5 million annually and Schoen insisting the Giants had “stretched” their budget to get to $13M.
“I don’t think there’s a better running back in the NFL right now. So, I should be paid as the highest running back in the NFL,” Barkley said.
“They keep telling me I’m the best running back in the NFL. So, pay me like I’m the best running back in the NFL. And I want a long-term deal. I deal that shows you see me as part of the future … if you do not see me in that, trade me.
“I just want to get paid what I can actually get paid.”
Barkley said that in the end he just did not feel treated fairly.
“I wasn’t going to try to break the bank. All I wanted was a fair negotiation. Not just my back against the wall, you use the tag deadline against me. Like, take this or not.”
Free agency
As free agency approached, Barkley’s frustration with the Giants remained obvious.
“I’ve done nothing but represent this organization the right way. It don’t gotta be like this. It could be simple. It’s insane,” Barkley said. “I can’t go nowhere. And you know why I can’t go nowhere? I can’t go nowhere because I do it the right way.”
After signing with the Eagles Barkley said he did not want to sound like “the bitter ex.”
”All I wanted was an opportunity to go and see what I’m worth, and then match it,” Barkley said.
The Giants chose not to match the Eagles’ offer, of course.
Saquon knows he is in a better place
Barkley, of course, ran for a historic 2,005 yards and the Eagles won the Super Bowl lat season. He knows that doesn’t happen if he stays with the Giants.
“Am I having an MVP-caliber season if I’m with the New York Giants this year? No. I year ago I was ass. I lost a step. I wasn’t this. Is he really worth it? Now I’m an offensive Player of the Year, MVP candidate,” barkley said.
Saquon’s daughter is a star
Barkley’s daughter, Jayda, who said at one point before her daddy joined his new team that “I think you should be on the Eagles” is a star. Giants fans will hate it, but watching her lean into the camera and sing “fly, Eagles, fly” was endearing.
It was also fun to watch Barkley dote on Jayda and his youngest child, Saquon Jr. It was a reminder that these athletes, no matter how rich or famous, have lives away from the game and people that are important to them.
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