Saquon Barkley Skips Rush Record but Can Gain $3M With Bonuses

Saquon Barkley won’t break the NFL’s single-season rushing record, but he’s on pace to shatter his personal best earnings year.

The Philadelphia Eagles running back was announced on the NFC’s Pro Bowl roster on Thursday for the third time in his seven-year career. That inclusion triggers a $250,000 Pro Bowl bonus that was baked into the $37 million contract he signed back in March. Barkley previously picked up $500,000 for crossing the 2,000-yard benchmark. That’s $750,000 so far for his MVP-caliber season with a chance to still earn notably more, according to Spotrac, which tracks payrolls and salaries based off player contracts.

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His unique contract structure calls for his already made $750,000 to turn into $1.5 million, since whatever he earns via incentives this season will also be added to his 2025 base salary as an escalator.

And there are three more potential bonuses still out there for him this season. Barkley can snag up to $1 million more if 1) the Eagles win the NFC championship ($250,000); 2) the Eagles win the Super Bowl ($250,000; and 3) he’s named to the All-Pro first team ($500,000). All told, with the escalator provisions he could come away with $3 million extra.

He’s the latest NFL star cashing in on a heavily incentivized deal, one which placed him among the highest-paid running backs, but behind Johnathan Taylor (Indianapolis Colts), Alvin Kamara (New Orleans Saints) and Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco 49ers).

It’s a bit of a consolation for Barkley, who was told this week he will not be playing in the regular-season finale versus the New York Giants with the Eagles having already locked up the NFC’s No. 2 seed. The afternoon matchup against his former team (which has the NFL’s second-worst run defense) would have been a prime opportunity for him to set the league rushing mark.

Barkley is just 101 yards shy of surpassing the record set by former Los Angeles Rams running back Eric Dickerson in 1984 (2,105 yards) but told reporters on Wednesday that while he was ready to chase it, he isn’t interested in “putting the team at risk” ahead of its postseason run.

And he’s still getting his performance bonus after becoming just the ninth player ever to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards in a season, when he ran for 167 against the Cowboys in game No. 16 last weekend.

“That’s another reason why sitting him isn’t controversial,” NFL agent Brad Blank said in a phone interview. “(Dickerson’s) record was done in a 16-game season. There’s an asterisk there anyway.”

Barkley is making $13.5 million this season including his signing bonus. If the Eagles can win their first Super Bowl since 2018 and Barkley earns first-team All-Pro honors, the $3 million in extra cash would place his payout closer to the top of the running back market, currently occupied by McCaffrey at $16 million this season.

“The guy who says, ‘I want X’ and that’s a lot higher than what the team wants to do, that’s usually where the incentives are indulged by both parties,” Blank added. “They’ll say, ‘Hey we’re apart on the numbers, so if you think he’s so great if he does this, that and the other, then he gets paid like that. But if he doesn’t, he’s paid at a more moderate level.”

With the Eagles’ playoff position solidified, Barkley will save his energy. He won’t go down in the history books, but he’ll walk away with his biggest payday of his career and perhaps reach his first Super Bowl.

“He’s the head coach for a reason,” Barkley told reporters on Wednesday about Eagles head man Nick Sirianni. “He makes those decisions and whatever decision he wanted to make, I let him know if you let me play, I’m going to go out there and make sure I get it. And if I don’t, I am OK with that, too.”

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