It seems like the tides are turning for the Running Backs. With the signing of a $41 million contract extension by Saquon Barkley with the Philadelphia Eagles, making Barkley the highest-paid RB. Barkley only has one wish for all his fellow RBs. “I hope they beat it,” he says. Barkley is not the kind who gets jealous if other RBs make more than him. After all, he was one of the RBs who fought to reduce the pay disparity between Running Backs and the other positions. Making this extension a huge win, not only for him but also for the entire community of RBs.

For quite some time, RBs were thought of as expendables, after all, statistically, an RB’s effectiveness drops with his age. The teams also kept devaluing Running Backs, keeping their Franchise Tag under $11 million. However, with this extension, Barkley has defied the tradition. Just as he defied the statistics and recorded his career best figures in 2024. Recording over 2,500 yards and scoring 18 touchdowns in 2024. Showing that the stats and traditions can be broken.

More recently, on the ‘Exciting Mics’ podcast, Barkley talked about the change that’s been brought since the outcry in 2023. In a clip posted on Instagram, Cooper DeJean is seen asking Barkley about how it felt being the highest-paid Running Back in the NFL, given the lack of respect contractually. Replying to Cooper, Barkley thanked the Eagles organization and Howie Roseman, the Executive vice president of the Philadelphia Eagles, for the contract. He said, “Shout out to the Eagles organization, Howie. A lot of times, GMs and organizations have leverage on you and, you know, they can do whatever they want. So…But it’s cool to help bring back the running back market.”

Barkley then spoke of how RBs are a key part of the teams and the narrative around RBs dying out early. He said, “It was just a narrative that they were trying to create because they paid Todd Gurley. They paid Zeke. I got drafted high, and they paid Christian. And we all had a time where we all were banged up and getting hurt. But you can do that for any position.” Giving a hypothetical example. Barkley spoke of a situation in which if the next 5 Wide Receivers get hurt, then even that position will devalue.

“It doesn’t just work like that. It’s football. At the end of the day, you got to play great defense. You have to be able to run the football, and you need a good quarterback. If you don’t have that. The majority of the time, you’re not going to have a chance to win a Super Bowl,” said Barkley, while talking of the importance of each position and what a team needs to win a Super Bowl.

While Saquon Barkley talked about the importance of RBs and the dominance of the Eagles on the podcast. He also made a controversial claim. In response, a Cowboys legend has challenged his claim and ripped into him.

Cowboys legend challenges Saquon Barkley’s claim

Saquon Barkley’s confidence has recently been sky high. Not only did he record his career-best figures, but he also won the Super Bowl with the Eagles. On one such occasion, Barkley let the confidence get the best of him and made a ‘controversial’ claim regarding the Eagles. The claim? Eagles are a top-5 team of all time. This was enough for an ex-Cowboys player and legend to rip into Barkley and challenge his claim.

Talking to a panel on SPEAK, Keyshawn Johnson, while speaking about Barkley’s claim, said, “Buddy, nah… They’re not one of the top five teams in the history of the National Football League.” Johnson even went on to say that Saquon Barkley would have had “seven yards against our defense”. While Johnson admitted to loving watching Barkley play as an RB, he further added that “Saquon Barkley would have a rough day” against their defense. Setting a line between the Eagles and being the best team of all time. Johnson also talked about what the Eagles will have to do to get in the discussion of the top 5 of all time. His solution: “They got to win a couple more.”

With Barkley already making the claim of being one of the top-5 teams of all time. The Eagles will need to rise to the occasion when the new season starts. And if Barkley is right when he says that the team is one of the best of all time. Oh boy, are we in for a treat!