The New York Giants watched Saquon Barkley walk out the door and take the turnpike down to a division rival’s home last offseason. He then went on to win the Super Bowl as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.
This pivotal moment came to fruition after several years of failed negotiations between Barkley and the Giants as the superstar running back sought a long-term contract extension to stay in New York.
New details of those negotiations were recently revealed — and they don’t exactly paint the Giants in the best of lights.
Giants declined Saquon Barkley’s request for permission to seek a trade in 2023
“Saquon,” a new documentary releasing on Amazon Prime this Thursday, details Barkley’s negotiations with the Giants and his eventual success with the Eagles.
According to this documentary (as revealed by The New York Post), Giants co-owner and team president John Mara declined Barkley’s request for permission to seek a trade amidst negotiations back in 2023.
“I’m not going to do that,” Mara told Barkley (h/t Ryan Dunleavy of The New York Post). “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 that at this point. You are too valuable to this franchise.”
Mara was always adamant that he wanted to keep Barkley in Big Blue. In the Giants’ 2024 Hard Knocks: Offseason Edition documentary series that was released on HBO, Mara was quoted as saying he would “have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia.”
Despite Mara’s desire to keep Barkley with the Giants, Barkley felt as though general manager Joe Schoen did not seem all that interested in getting a deal done.
“I would’ve signed for $10 million, $11 million [per year] if they would’ve just operated a whole different way,” Barkley said before signing with the Eagles in free agency. “If I felt in my heart they tried their best to get it done.”
The Giants, meanwhile, have won just four of their last 22 games since Barkley left and joined the Eagles. Barkley finished last season with 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing.