Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1533674
6 2 A P R I L 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M N early one year after signing his first contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, former Penn State star Saquon Barkley has received an extension that makes him the highest-paid run- ning back in NFL history. The Eagles gave Barkley a two- year, $41.2 million extension with $36 million guaranteed and the possibility of an additional $15 mil- lion in bonuses. The first running back in league history to surpass $20 million in annual salary, he's now under contract with Philadel- phia through the 2028 season. "Grateful for the Eagles Orga- nization, grateful for my team, grateful for the amazing fans in Philly," Barkley wrote on X (Twit- ter) after signing the deal on March 4. Barkley enjoyed a record-setting season in helping lead the Eagles to their second Super Bowl champi- onship. After signing a three-year, $37.75 million contract on March 11, 2024, the Coplay, Pa., native went on to become only the ninth player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season. He finished with 2,005 yards during the regular season and would have likely broken Eric Dick- erson's regular-season record of 2,105 yards had he played in Philadelphia's regular-season finale against the New York Giants, his former team. The Ea- gles opted instead to rest Barkley for that game to prepare for the postseason, and that decision paid off handsomely. He rushed 91 times for 499 yards and 5 touchdowns in the Eagles' four playoff wins. In the process, Barkley broke the all- time single-season rushing record for regular-season and postseason games, totaling 2,504 rushing yards in his first campaign with the Eagles. The previous record had been held by Denver's Terrell Davis since 1998. Barkley's 2,857 all-purpose yards in 20 games were also a league record, and he earned his third Pro Bowl nod while winning first-team All-Pro honors as well as the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year award. After signing his new deal, Barkley said he hoped that it would help reset the market for running backs. With his $20.6 million new-money average, he's just ahead of San Francisco's Christian McCaffrey at $19 million annually. In recent years, running backs have lagged behind other offensive skill po- sitions, but Barkley is eager to see that dynamic change. "That's how I look at it," he told Zach Berman of PHLY Sports. "I don't care, 'Is this guy going to be paid more than me?' That's not what this sport is about. It's putting the position up, and all those guys who are underneath me right now, when there's a time, they beat it and max it out even more. And in five and 10 years, all those guys who are playing in high school and college right now. That's the goal. It's happening for every other position. I think it should happen for our position, too." GESICKI EARNS NEW DEAL FROM BENGALS Tight end Mike Gesicki ex- perienced a career revival in his first season in Cincinnati, and the Bengals rewarded him in March with a three-year, $25.5 million deal. Gesicki had been on one-year deals for three consecutive years, first with Miami in 2022, then with New England in 2023 and finally with the Bengals last fall. His new multiyear pact gives him some stability after emerging as one of quarterback Joe Burrow's favorite targets during the 2024 campaign. G e s i c k i f i n i s h e d w i t h 6 5 catches for 665 yards and 2 touch- downs. His receptions total ranked third on the team and was the highest by a Bengals tight end since Dan Ross caught 71 passes in 1981. It was Gesicki's most productive season since the 2021 cam- paign when he caught 73 passes for 780 yards and 4 scores for the Dolphins, the team that selected him in the second round of the 2018 draft. Burrow reportedly played a key role in Gesicki's new contract by urging the front office to bring him back af- ter a season in which the Bengals fell short of the playoffs but were among the league's hottest teams in the final weeks, ending the season on a five- game winning streak. "I'll be forever indebted to Joe Burrow and what he's done for my career and how he's talked about me," Gesicki said. "I've said from Day 1, he's one of one, Saquon Barkley Inks Record-Setting Extension With Eagles GREG PICKEL | GREG.PICKEL@ON3.COM PSU IN THE PROS Barkley became the first running back in NFL history to surpass $20 million per season when he signed a two-year contract extension with the defending Super Bowl champs. He's now under contract with Philadelphia through the 2028 campaign. PHOTO COURTESY PHILADELPHIA EAGLES