Why did Saquon Barkley leave the Giants? Revisiting John Mara, Joe Schoen comments during 2024 free agency

Morgan Moriarty

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Why did Saquon Barkley leave the Giants? Revisiting John Mara, Joe Schoen comments during 2024 free agency image

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In his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles, Saquon Barkley had one of the best seasons in NFL history. En route to the Eagles' second Super Bowl in franchise history, Barkley set single-season records in rushing yards and scrimmage yards. 

But, before that, Barkley wanted to be a "Giant for life."

The No. 2 pick in the 2018 NFL draft spent his first six seasons with Big Blue before signing a three-year, $37.5 million contract with Philadelphia in 2024. Barkley has said in the past he wanted to stay a Giant, and with the new "Saquon" documentary coming out on Oct. 9, 2025, we got another look into how the saga unfolded.

Here's why Barkley —  once seen as a savior for New York's storied franchise — left for a division rival where he's now flourishing.

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Why didn't the Giants re-sign Saquon Barkley?

Barkley entered the 2023 season with the Giants on the last year of his contract. After he was drafted by New York in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, he signed a four-year, $31.2 million deal with the team. Despite some brief drama over the summer before the 2023 season, Barkley signed a one-year deal worth up to $11 million to stay in New York.

But as the 2023-24 season came to a close, one which saw New York finish 6-11, Barkley entered the offseason without a contract for 2024. Ironically enough, fans got to see all the drama from the Giants' offseason play out on HBO's offseason version of "Hard Knocks." 

Early on in the show, Schoen and other Giants executives are seen discussing the situation. Some of them even doubted the possibility of teams paying $12 million for Barkley, who is 27 years old and suffered a knee injury that caused him to miss most of the 2020 season. Here's more from The Athletic:  

Abrams, who shifted from assistant GM to his current role after Schoen was hired, raised doubt about any team being willing to pay Barkley the tag cost of $12 million (minus any money paid by the Giants to facilitate a deal) and give up a draft pick in a trade.

Schoen, apparently thinking out loud, interjected to say, “Having the needs that we have and a $12 million 27-year-old running back.” That comment was met with a long pause before Hickey, the former Dolphins GM and now a consigliere to Schoen, called trading Barkley a “Hail Mary” and pointed out the drama that would come with a tag and trade.

“That was 10 years off my life, dealing with that,” Schoen said of the failed extension negotiations with Barkley in 2023. “Emotionally, was draining. We spent a lot of time on it. But again, I don’t want that to be the reason we don’t do what’s best for the franchise.”

Additionally, the show includes conversations between Schoen and Barkley's agent, Ed Berry. Berry had told Schoen previously that the Giants would need to offer a three-year deal worth $12.5 million per year with $25 million guaranteed.

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"I told the agent, if we match that deal, he's gonna be a Giant," Schoen said in a conversation with Giants owner John Mara, as transcribed by Fox Sports. "He's like, ‘Wellll.' He hemmed and hawwed. He's like, ‘I'm not saying that. We've got a lot of work to do if that happens.'"

The show also revealed two key moments between New York general manager Joe Schoen and Barkley's camp. First, "Hard Knocks" cameras captured a phone call between Barkley and Schoen. 

On the call, Schoen is heard telling Barkley that he should "test the market" in free agency to see what his value is, and that he doesn't want to franchise tag him. He also suggests that the Giants will do their best to match the offer. Barkley seemingly confirms with Schoen that he's told the Giants he'd like to remain in New York. Here's that call:  

Barkley's market value was higher than what the Giants initially thought. In additional footage captured by Hard Knocks, Schoen and Mara are seen discussing the Barkley rumors, which include him being linked to the Chicago Bears and Eagles. Mara says he'll have a hard time sleeping at night if Barkley goes to Philadelphia: 

On March 13, 2024, Barkley ended up signing a three-year $37.75 million contract with the Eagles. The deal made him the second-highest paid running back in the NFL, when looking at average annual value (AAV) of roughly $12.58. It also gave Barkley nearly $12 million more over three seasons than what New York was willing to offer him. 

In this clip, you can see Schoen acknowledging that Barkley received "north of" the initial $25 million figure New York could give him: 

In the days and weeks following, the Giants received plenty of criticism from fans for the trade. But in the end, the deal was done, and the Giants' face of the franchise in Barkley was on his way to a division rival. Little did the Giants know that he'd help lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl run in his very first season. 

To add insult to injury, the team moved on from quarterback Daniel Jones midseason, just one year after signing him to a four-year, $160 million deal. Jones' contract was part of why New York couldn't afford to pay Barkley more than the $25M figure.  

Barkley stated on social media that he never received an offer to return to New York: 

Schoen appeared on a podcast with Fox Sports' Peter Schraeger in July, and further explained the decision:   

"It was difficult," Shoen said. "It always is. And where our roster is, and the different needs that we had and how we're going to allocate our funds that we had, we had to make a difficult decision. And we wish Saquon nothing but the best. You know episode one, when we're all in the office, and Chris Rossetti is saying 'Should we trade? Do we not?' We thought we were only gonna have $15 million in cap, we didn't even know what the cap was at the time." 

How the Giants and Eagles respective seasons went in 2024 couldn't be any more different. New York finished 3-14 and are set to have the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

Barkley, meanwhile, is having the most productive season of his career, notching a historic 2,447 rushing yards with 18 touchdowns. He's just 29 yards short of surpassing the single-season record for rushing yards (postseason included) set by Terrell Davis in 1998. And he's brought the Eagles to the precipice of their second Super Bowl in franchise history. Philadelphia and general manager Howie Roseman were the clear winners here. 

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Saquon Barkley Eagles contract

Barkley's contract with the Eagles is a three-year, $37.75 million deal. $26 million of that money is fully guaranteed, as well.  

The average annual value (AAV) is roughly $12.58 and a maximum AAV value of $15.833 million, Barkley is one of the sport's highest-paid runners in the league. The deal took him through his 2026 season with Philadelphia. 

But, after his first season with Philadelphia, Barkley signed a historic contract to match his historic season.

In March 2025, Barkley signed a two-year contract extension with the Eagles in March 2025 for $41.2 million, with $36 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid running back in NFL history at the time. The deal extended Barkley through 2028 and includes up to $15 million in incentives.

Per USA Today (updated in August 2025), Barkley is still the highest-paid running back in the NFL with his $20.6 million AAV. By total contract value, he ranks fourth behind Josh Jacobs, James Cook and Jonathan Taylor.

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Did Saquon Barkley request a trade?

In the new Amazon prime documentary, "Saquon," it was revealed that Barkley requested a trade from the Giants in 2023.

In the opening minutes of the 90-minute show, Barkley was on a phone call with Giants owner John Mara and said "would you allow me permission to seek for a trade?"

"No Saquon, I'm not going to do that," Mara responded. "That makes no sense."

Barkley rolled his eyes and was noticeably upset, and in the introduction, he said "“They say don’t take business personally, but it is personal.”

Later in the documentary when the whole call was showed, Barkley aired out his frustrations.

"I want to be here. You're telling me you want me to be a Giant for life, I want to be a Giant for life," Barkley said. "But, the negotiations and the contracts being sent aren't matching that same energy. I don't want to go nowhere else, but I don't want to feel like I'm stuck."

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What did Saquon Barkley say about the Giants?

Barkley had a lot to say about his former franchise through the documentary, which followed his career from when he was drafted to now.

When recovering from ACL surgery, he said "Sundays are like the worst day for me. I'm like the Giants biggest fan right now, because that's all I could be."

He was asked about his future with the Giants in 2021, and said "am I nervous about a trade? Yes. I have a whole family."

A few times during the documentary, he questioned his future with New York for various reasons.

After the Giants beat the Green Bay Packers in London in 2022 to move to 4-1, Barkley said "If i keep doing this then contract talks have to come soon. Because at the end at the day, if we wait till the end of the season, I might as well go to free agency and bid against everybody."

After a contract negotiations meeting on Nov. 13, 2022, Barkley did not mince words.

"We didn't get nothing done," he said. "It's not even the fact that we didn't get nothing done. It was a joke ... they really spit in my face. And then they give me the ball 35, 40 times? They really don't appreciate me."

In the 2022 offseason, when Barkley was eligible for a new contract, there were talks about New York franchise tagging him. He said "In my heart of hearts do I think the Giants will pay me what I'm worth? No."

The documentary captured Barkley's call with Giants owner Mara in the 2023 offseason where Barkley requested a trade. He said "It's obviously clear, I don't think we're going to get to a place where we can agree on a deal."

When Mara said no, Barkley rolled his eyes.

In the scene after the call, Barkley said he does not have to be politically correct anymore. Per the running back, "I want the fans to know I said I want to be a Giant for life, it takes two to tango ... now I feel trapped. You won't pay me and you won't trade me."

Barkley spent the 2023 season with the Giants, then New York did not franchise tag him. He hit the market as a free agent.

"All I wanted was an opportunity to go and see what I'm worth," Barkley said. "Then [the Giants] match it."

He opened up about his experience with the Giants after signing with Philadelphia.

"I had nights where I couldn't sleep. I just wanted to have success here and dream about that parade in New York," Barkley said. "Unfortunately in the first six years of my career, we only had one season where we were really competitive ... with the Eagles, every year we have a chance."

Barkley returned to Metlife Stadium with the Eagles for the first time on Oct. 20, 2024. The night before, Barkley was lost for words.

"This is the first time I don't have an answer," he said. "I don't know how I feel."

Barkley went on to tally 176 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries as Philadelphia blew out the Giants, 28-3.

MORE: Complete list of Super Bowl MVP winners through the years

Saquon Barkley stats

Season

Games Played

Team

Rush Yards

TDs

Receiving Yards

TDs

2018

16

NYG

1,307

11

721

4

2019

13

NYG

1,003

6

438

2

2020

2

NYG

34

0

60

0

2021

13

NYG

593

2

263

2

2022

16

NYG

1,426

12

415

0

2023

14

NYG

962

6

280

4

2024

16

PHI

2,447

18

313

2

Morgan Moriarty

Morgan Moriarty joined The Sporting News as a content producer in the fall of 2024. Her sports journalism career started at the University of Florida in 2012, where she graduated in 2015. She has covered college football and basketball, the NFL and numerous other major sports for outlets like the Tampa Bay Times, Saturday Down South, UPROXX Sports and SB Nation. She also covers college football for Bleacher Report, and is a featured guest on various CNN programs.