The NFL lives in a constant earthquake this Monday, the day the free agent signing period has opened. Players with contracts finalized last year can now find new teams, and in the first minutes of free agency there have already been several very high-profile moves: Kirk Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons, Josh Jacobs to the Green Bay Packers, Christian Wilkins to Las Vegas Raiders, D’Andre Swift to the Chicago Bears… Although, so far, the signing that has made the most noise has been that of Saquon Barkley, 27, for the Philadelphia Eagles. One of the best running backs in the league is leaving the New York Giants to sign for the franchise’s biggest rival in the Big Apple.
The rivalry between the Eagles and Giants dates back to 1933, and they have had heated duels ever since. They both belong to the same division, the NFC East, so they play two games every year (as long as they do not meet in the playoffs). The signing of Barkley is a coup for Philadelphia, who needed a starting running back and ended up taking their main enemy. It is true that the Giants decided a week ago not to apply the franchise tag to Saquon, the tag that forces him to renew for one season for the salary of the average of the five highest paid in his position, thus giving Barkley the freedom to search a new destination. “Thank you to everyone who has shown me love and support over the last six years… Forever grateful! Excited for the next chapter,” Saquon wrote on his social networks to say goodbye to the New Yorkers.
After six fruitful seasons in the Giants, a team that opted for him in the second position of the 2018 Draft and in which he has registered 76 games played, more than 5,300 career yards and 49 touchdowns, one of the best running backs in the league finds in the Eagles his new home. To do this, Philadelphia has to make a large outlay: according to Adam Schefter, Barkley will earn 37.75 million dollars in three years, 26 of them guaranteed no matter what happens, although with the bonuses it can rise to 46.75 ‘kilos’ . If he receives the full amount, the 15.83 million that he will earn on average per campaign would be the second best figure for a running back in history, only behind the 16 million dollars that Christian McCaffrey earns. Barkley returns to his ‘first home’, and he played for Penn State University, in the state of Pennsylvania and just three hours by car from Philadelphia. NFL free agency begins with excitement, and there will be even more when Barkley reunites with the Giants, twice as well, in the next season.
2024-03-11 19:16:53
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