Why Saquon Barkley Could Be the Real Star of the Super Bowl

Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady. When one considers the dominant NFL conversation-starters of the past quarter century, these names rise to the top. 

Brady with his record seven Super Bowls and Greatest of All Time (GOAT) status. Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs superstar, is chasing history on Super Bowl Sunday, trying to become the first signal-caller to win three straight Super Bowls titles. A win against the Philadelphia Eagles would already give Mahomes four championships, at age 29, leaving him plenty of time to threaten Brady’s supremacy. 

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Quarterbacks, quarterbacks, quarterbacks.

Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, Lamar Jackson, on and on. Fans obsess about the arms. Teams pay astronomical sums for the good ones. No question, there have been outstanding players at other positions that demand our attention: J.J. Watt, Terrell Owens, Troy Polamalu, to name a few.

But there was once a time, from the ‘70s to the ‘90s, when runners weren’t just game-changing players, but bonafide mainstream stars. Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Bo Jackson, Walter “Sweetness” Payton, Marcus Allen, O.J. Simpson. Everyone knew the big running backs (RBs).

That hasn’t really been the case in recent years. Until now, thanks to Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, the key player of Super Bowl 59. Especially if Barkley and his Eagles can pull off the win, knocking Mahomes off his quarterback (QB) perch.

With his monster 2024 regular season and postseason, Barkley brought some shine back to the running backs. Barkley has scored five rushing touchdowns (TDs) this postseason: if he were to achieve three more at the Super Bowl, he’d tie Terrell Davis for the most rushing scores in a single playoffs (eight, in the playoffs following the 1997 season). In the 1998 season and postseason, Davis rushed for 2,476 yards, an all-time high, as the Broncos repeated as Super Bowl champs. 

With just 30 rushing yards on Sunday, Barkley—who will turn 28 on Super Bowl Sunday—will break Davis’ record for most total rushing yards in a regular season and playoffs.

Three of Barkley’s TD runs during Philadelphia’s playoff run have been for 60 or more yards; he ran for 62 and 78-yard scores against the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round, and added a 60-yard TD rush in the NFC Championship Game, against the Washington Commanders. 

In short, Barkley’s been a thrill ride all year. He’s a threat to break free, on any handoff. He could will the Eagles to victory, almost solely on the deftness of his footsteps.

Between 1990 and 2000, five running backs were named NFL MVP. Since then, only three RBs have won the award, and none since Adrian Peterson, in 2012. Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen edged out Jackson for the 2024 honor; Barkley, as dominant as he was, finished third. 

The conventional wisdom, in recent years, is that running backs are expendable. They can be replenished by younger, cheaper players that cycle through the league. While Brady and Rodgers can play into their 40s, running backs have a much shorter shelf life. The market for running backs was so financially depressed—relative to other positions— in 2023 that a group of top RBs, including Barkley, reportedly hopped on a Zoom call to express their concerns. 

The undervaluing of running backs was put on full display last year on Hard Knocks, the popular behind-the-scenes HBO docuseries that embeds with an NFL team. The series tracked the New York Giants, Barkley’s former team, last off-season; New York general manager Joe Schoen had inked quarterback Daniel Jones to a four year, $160 million contract extension in 2023. The cameras caught him wavering on his commitment to Barkley. “You’re paying the guy $40 million,” Schoen said of Jones. “It’s not to hand the ball off to a $12 million back,” meaning Barkley. 

So Schoen encouraged Barkley to test free agency. “I’d have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that,” New York owner John Mara said in front of the cameras. Barkley wound up signing a three-year contract, worth $37.75 million that includes $26 million guaranteed, with Philly, New York’s division rival. Barkley’s in the Super Bowl. New York released Jones this season, and finished 3-14.

After Barkley’s success, teams would be wise to rethink their investments in running backs. Davis was the last running back to win Super Bowl MVP honors, 27 years ago. If Barkley can repeat that feat, it’s official. 

This NFL thing has some legs. 

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