Saquon Barkley joined rarefied air on Sunday night.
The Philadelphia Eagles running back became just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season, smashing the milestone in a dominant 41-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys which also saw Philly clinch the NFC East title.
Barkley needed 162 yards to hit the 2,000-yard mark after entering the Week 17 clash with 1,838 rushing yards.
He went on to rush 31 times for 167 yards. His 23-yard run in the fourth quarter pushed him past the milestone and he left the game shortly after.
Barkley now has 2,005 yards with one regular season game left to play. He is exactly 100 yards from Eric Dickerson’s record of 2,105, set in 1984 for the Los Angeles Rams.
“Being a fan of the game and the running back position, to reach a milestone and put myself up there with eight other backs that I respect, and some I grew up watching, definitely means a lot,” Barkley said after the Cowboys win.
“But at the same time, I wouldn’t be able to do that without this team. You can’t be great without the greatness of others.”
The 27-year-old’s debut season in Philadelphia could not have gone much better.
The former New York Giant signed a three-year, $37.8 million deal with the Eagles in free agency earlier this year with tons of bonuses and incentives.
Barkley’s contract is set up so that the MVP contender can earn up to an additional $3 million in individual and team incentives for performance this season — some of which he’s already achieved.
If Barkley logged 1,500 rushing and receiving yards combined, he’ll earn a $250,000 incentive.
Well, he’s already smashed that as he has 2,283 total yards.
The amount earned from his yardage incentive would also be added to his 2025 salary as an escalator. For Barkley, 2,000 combined yards would net him $1 million total.
For a first-team All-Pro selection, which is nailed on at this point, Barkley earns a $500,000 incentive.
A second-team honor or being voted into the Pro Bowl would earn him $250,000.
If he finishes as the league’s rushing yards leader, that’s another $500,000. Barkley is well ahead in that statistic — his 2,005 rushing yards dwarfs Derrick Henry, who is in second place with 1,783.
Barkley can also scoop an additional $750,000 in the postseason.
The Eagles are locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs and will host the No. 7 seed in the first round.
A victory in the NFC Championship Game will net Barkley $250,000.
A Super Bowl LIX win would gift him an additional $500,000 payday.
Before that, though, Barkley will have the chance to smash Dickerson’s 30-year single-season rushing record in the regular season finale next weekend.
Rather poetically, that game is against his former team, the Giants, who let Barkley leave earlier this year and have been ruing the decision ever since.
However, with the NFC East locked up, coach Nick Sirianni could opt to rest Barkley to protect him from injury ahead of the playoffs.
“Whatever his decision is, I’m all for it,” Barkley said. “If his mindset is, go out and try it, we’ll go out and try it. If his mindset is, let’s rest and get ready for this run, I’ll all for it, too.”
Sirianni simply said, “we’ll see.”
When asked if he wanted to break Dickerson’s record against his old team, Barkley added: “I’m not overly trying to go get it.
“I’m not scared to. I would love to. But at the end of the day, we’ve got bigger things we’re focusing on.”
