Less than a year after signing a significant contract with the Eagles, running back Saquon Barkley has earned another. And this one makes Barkley the first $20 million player at his position.
The two-year extension to the remaining two years of Barkley’s original deal with the Eagles creates a new four-year contract. The paperwork hasn’t been signed, but we’ve gotten our eyes on the details.
Here there are, per multiple sources with knowledge of the terms:
1. 2025 option bonus: $15.08 million, fully guaranteed.
2. 2025 base salary: $1.17 million, fully guaranteed.
3. 2025 offseason workout bonus: $250,000, fully guaranteed but must be earned.
4. 2026 option bonus: $15.45 million, fully guaranteed.
5. 2026 base salary: $1.3 million, fully guaranteed.
6. 2026 offseason workout bonus: $250,000, fully guaranteed but must be earned.
7. 2027 option bonus: $14.405 million, $2.5 million of which is fully guaranteed.
8. 2027 base salary: $1.345 million.
9. 2027 offseason workout bonus: $250,000.
10. 2028 offseason roster bonus: $1 million, due on the third day of the 2028 league year.
11. 2028 option bonus: $16.56 million.
12. 2028 base salary: $1.39 million.
12. 2028 offseason workout bonus: $250,000.
The contract also includes an annual incentive package. Barkley gets $250,000 for 1,500 yards from scrimmage. It becomes $500,000 at 2,000 yards from scrimmage.
For Pro Bowl or second-team All-Pro, he makes another $250,000. If he’s a first-team All-Pro, the number becomes $500,000.
If he rushes for 1,000 yards and the Eagles win the NFC Championship, he gets $250,000. If he rushes for 1,000 yards and the Eagles win the Super Bowl, it becomes $500,000.
That’s up to $1.5 million per year in incentives. Also, any incentives earned escalate each remaining year’s salary by the same amount. For example, if Barkley earns the full incentive package in 2025, his base salaries in 2026, 2027, and 2028 increase by $1.5 million each year. The formula leads to a maximum increase in the total payout by $15 million.
The new-money average of $20.6 million is the highest for a running back, ever. No other running back had gotten to $20 million per year.
The full guarantee at signing of $36 million is the most ever for a running back. The two-year ($33.5 million) and three-year ($49.5 million) cash flow is the most for any running back in NFL history.
With incentives and escalators, the new-money annual average can max out at $25.85 million.
Barkley had been due to earn $27.5 million over the next two years, given his salaries and the escalators triggered by his 2024 performance. He’ll now make $33.5 million, fully-guaranteed.
The Giants are trying to chart a better course at the quarterback position in 2025, but there will be at least one reminder of the bad old days on the roster when they get back to work in the spring.
Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com reports that Tommy DeVito will sign his exclusive rights free agent tender in the next few days. DeVito will make $1.03 million under the terms of the tender.
DeVito landed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and the New Jersey native found his way into the lineup and the hearts of fans after injuries to Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor during his rookie season. The Giants went 3-3 in DeVito’s six starts and the team turned back to him in 2024 when they released Jones. He made two starts, but Drew Lock wound up making more starts down the stretch,
DeVito is 145-of-222 for 1,358 yards, eight touchdowns, and three interceptions over 12 total appearances. If all goes well for the Giants, he won’t be adding to those numbers in 2025.
The Giants will not be looking for a new long snapper this offseason.
The team announced that they have re-signed Casey Kreiter on Wednesday. It’s a one-year deal for Kreiter, who has twice been named a captain by the team.
Kreiter will head into his sixth season with the Giants. He appeared in every game over the last five seasons and also played in every games during his final three seasons with the Broncos. He was selected for one Pro Bowl while in Denver and has been credited with 16 career tackles.
The Giants now have 20 players set to become unrestricted free agents next week.
Will the Giants make a play for a top rookie quarterback? Will they sign Aaron Rodgers?
According to the betting markets, why not both?
DraftKings has the Giants as both the co-favorite to make the first overall pick and the favorite to sign Rodgers.
The Titans and Giants have odds of -105 to make the first pick. For the Giants to do it, they’d have to trade up by two spots. And they’d presumably pick quarterback Cam Ward, given their needs at the position.
The Giants are also -150 favorites to sign Rodgers. The Steelers — who have shown no interest in Rodgers — are next at +275, followed by the Raiders and Titans at +450 each.
The idea of pairing Ward and Rodgers doesn’t make much sense. Rodgers starts in 2025. What if the Giants struggle? At what point do they switch to Ward? And how awkward will that be?
Regardless, the Giants seem likely to do one or the other. The short-term interests of coach Brian Daboll and G.M. Joe Schoen point to Rodgers. If they’re making a longer-term decision, Ward makes much more sense.
Next year, the FIFA World Cup is coming back to America. And the final match will be embracing an American tradition.
For the first time ever, the game will include a Super Bowl-style halftime show.
The list of artists for the halftime show for the match to be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey will be curated by Coldplay.
Coldplay headlined the Super Bowl 50 halftime show in Santa Clara, with Beyoncé and Bruno Mars.
“I can confirm the first ever half-time show at a FIFA World Cup final in New York New Jersey,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said. “This will be a historic moment for the FIFA World Cup and a show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world.”
The standard halftime is 15 minutes. Whether the break will be extended has not been announced.
All due respect to the Super Bowl, the FIFA World Cup final is indeed the biggest sporting event in the world. The 2022 World Cup final had 1.2 BILLION worldwide viewers, roughly 10 times the amount of this year’s Super Bowl audience.
