Saquon Barkley

Early life

Barkley was born in the Bronx, New York, the son of Alibay Barkley, a boxer, and Tonya Johnson. He has three brothers and two sisters. His brother Alibay Jr. was a baseball player drafted by the Los Angeles Angels, and his great uncle is former WBC middleweight champion Iran Barkley.

In 2001, Barkley and his family moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley, in search of a safer and more suburban environment. The family later moved to neighboring Allentown and, in 2005, to Coplay, Pennsylvania.

Barkley attended Whitehall High School in Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, which competes in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, an elite division of large high schools in the Lehigh Valley and Poconos known nationally for producing a large number of NFL and other professional athletes.

At Whitehall High School, Barkley rushed for 3,646 yards with 63 touchdowns from his sophomore to senior year, including 1,856 yards and 31 touchdowns as a senior. Barkley was rated as a four-star recruit and committed to Penn State to play college football. He originally committed to Rutgers before changing to Penn State.

In 2014, Barkley was co-winner of the annual Mr. Pennsylvania Football award for the state's top player in divisions AAA/AAAA. His co-winner at the A/AA level was Dominick Bragalone.

In addition to football, Barkley also lettered in basketball and track and field at Whitehall. As a senior in 2015, he won Eastern Pennsylvania Conference gold medals in both the 100-meter dash (11.15 seconds) and in the long jump (22 ft 2.5 in (6.769 m) at the PIAA District 11 meet, where he also earned a second-place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.90 seconds, which set a Whitehall High School record. Later in the track and field season, Barkley set personal best marks of 46 ft 2.5 in (14.084 m) in the shot put and 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) in the high jump.

Barkley was considered a top NCAA Division I football prospect and received multiple football scholarship offers, including from Missouri, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Temple. He chose to accept an offer from Penn State.

College career

Freshman year

At Penn State, Barkley earned immediate playing time as a true freshman in 2015. After rushing for one yard on one carry during his first game, he rushed for 115 yards with a touchdown in his second game against Buffalo. He followed up that performance by rushing for 195 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries in his third game against Rutgers. In October, he missed two games due to injury.

In his first game back against top-ranked Ohio State on October 17, 2015, he rushed for 194 yards on 26 carries. During his freshman year at Penn State in 2015, Barkley rushed for 1,076 yards on 182 carries.

During the offseason, Barkley received praise for his freshman year performance and was awarded second-team All-Big Ten with some votes for first team status and being named BTN.com Freshman of the Year.

Sophomore year

In the first game of his sophomore year at Penn State in 2016, Barkley rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown in a 33–13 win over Kent State. In week two, in a renewed rivalry game against Pitt, Penn State trailed in the second quarter 28–7 before Barkley led Penn State back, scoring five touchdowns with his fifth coming with 5:00 left in the fourth quarter, to bring the Nittany Lions within three points. However, quarterback Trace McSorley threw an interception in the Pitt end zone with 1:41 left that denied the Nittany Lions' hopes of completing the comeback. In week five against Minnesota, in what would become a recurring theme for the 2016 Penn State football team, Penn State again was forced to come back from a halftime deficit. In overtime, after being held to only 38 yards on 19 carries during regular playing time, Barkley's first play in overtime, a 25-yard touchdown run, gave Penn State the victory.

In week six against Maryland, Barkley had his first ever 200-yard rushing game at Penn State, finishing with 31 carries for 202 yards and one touchdown. In week seven, in a matchup versus Ohio State, Barkley rushed for 99 yards on 12 carries with one 37-yard run in a 24–21 win over the second ranked Buckeyes. In week eight, Barkley and no. 24 Penn State scored a season high 62 points versus Purdue as Barkley rushed for a career-high 207 yards and a career-high long 81-yard run, along with 70 yards in receiving yards and two touchdowns, giving him a total of 277 yards in the game. Penn State defeated Purdue 62–24 and improved to 6–2 and 4–1 in Big Ten play.

On November 1, 2016, Barkley was named a semi-finalist for the Maxwell Award, granted to the all-around best collegiate football player of the year. On November 5, Barkley rushed for 167 yards and a touchdown against Iowa. He added 44 yards and another touchdown in receiving for a total of 211 all-purpose yards in Penn State's 41–14 victory.

After the regular season, Barkley was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Ameche–Dayne Running Back of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten.

On December 3, 2016, Barkley had 19 carries for 83 yards, rushed for a touchdown, and caught another touchdown on a wheel route. His efforts helped Penn State recover from a 28–7 deficit to stun Wisconsin, 38–31, in the 2016 Big Ten Championship Game.

Junior year

In the first game of the 2017 season against Akron, Barkley ran 14 times for 172 yards, two rushing touchdowns, and a long run of 80 yards. He also caught two passes for 54 receiving yards. For his efforts, Barkley was named co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.

In Penn State's 2017 Big Ten opener, at Iowa, Barkley led Penn State to a 21–19 win, recording 358 all-purpose yards. He also set a school record for most all-purpose yards in a single game, recording 211 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, 94 receiving yards, and 53 kick return yards. For his efforts, Barkley was again named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.

In the first Big Ten home game of his junior year against the Indiana, Barkley rushed 20 times for just 56 yards, an unusually underwhelming rushing day for him. Despite this, he still had a major impact on the game, returning the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, catching four passes for 52 yards, and throwing a 16-yard pass to receiver DaeSean Hamilton late in the fourth quarter to cap a 45–14 Penn State win. This made Barkley the first player in Big Ten history to record a return and passing touchdown in the same game. Barkley was named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week. One month later against Ohio State, Barkley again returned the opening kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown, but was limited for the rest of the game recording 44 rushing yards on 21 carries, 36 of which came on a touchdown run in the second quarter. In his final collegiate game at Penn State, Barkley rushed for 137 yards and scored two touchdowns, one of them a 92-yard effort to put Penn State up 28–7 over the Washington Huskies in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl, which Penn State went on to win 35–28. On December 31, 2017, following Penn State's Fiesta Bowl victory, Barkley declared his intention to forgo his senior year at Penn State and enter the 2018 NFL draft.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Entering the 2018 NFL draft, Barkley was widely projected to be a top 10 NFL pick. In the weeks leading up to the NFL Combine, Barkley's stock rose even higher. By late February 2018, some mock drafts projected him as high as the second selection overall, the highest for a running back since Reggie Bush in 2006. ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr., who has history of not supporting the selection of running backs in the NFL draft's first round, said "Barkley is a once in a lifetime talent; teams that pass on this young man will be sorry."

At the combine, Barkley had a performance that was widely praised, running a 4.4 second 40-yard dash and doing 29 bench presses of 225 pound weight, tying for the most reps by any running back at this combine. According to NFL analyst Ian Rapoport, the Cleveland Browns were "strongly considering" drafting Barkley first overall, which would have made him the first running back since Ki-Jana Carter in 1995–also of Penn State—to be selected first overall.

New York Giants

Barkley was selected by the New York Giants with the second overall selection in the 2018 draft. On July 22, 2018, Barkley signed a four-year rookie contract, worth $31.2 million fully guaranteed.

Barkley scored his first NFL touchdown, a 68-yard rush, in the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Overall in his first NFL game, he rushed for 106 yards and scored a touchdown in the Giants' 20–15 loss. The following week, in a 20–13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Barkley recorded 14 receptions, setting a Giants' all-time franchise record for most catches in a game. He also tied the NFL single game record for most catches in a game by an NFL rookie. In Week 3, in the Giants' 27–22 victory over the Houston Texans, Barkley recorded 82 rushing yards, rushed for a touchdown, and caught five passes for 35 receiving yards. The following week, in the Giants' loss to the New Orleans Saints, Barkley recorded 100 scrimmage yards with 44 rushing yards and 56 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown. In Week 5, against the Carolina Panthers, he recorded four receptions for 81 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns and rushed for 48 yards in the Giants' 33–31 loss.

In the Giants' Week 6 Thursday Night Football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Barkley finished with 130 rushing yards, including a 50-yard touchdown and 99 receiving yards, totaling 229 all-purpose yards in the Giants 34–13 loss to Philadelphia. In Week 11 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Barkley rushed for his NFL career-high to date with 142 yards and three touchdowns as the Giants won 38–35, and for his efforts he was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week. In Week 12's 25–22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Barkley rushed for 101 yards and scored a 51-yard touchdown, becoming the first player since John Fuqua in 1970 to rush for two 50-plus yard touchdowns against the Eagles in a single season. In Week 13 against the Chicago Bears, Barkley had 125 rushing yards and three receptions for 21 yards in the 30–27 overtime win.

During Week 14, in the Giants' 40–16 win over the Redskins, Barkley rushed for 170 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown, becoming the first Giants rookie to surpass 1,000 rushing yards in a season, and setting the franchise's single-season record for rookies with 15 touchdowns scored. In the regular season finale against the Dallas Cowboys, Barkley had 17 carries for 109 yards, his seventh game with over 100 rushing yards on the season, and he scored a touchdown in the Giants' 36–35 loss. In recognition of his rookie season accomplishments, Barkley was elected to the 2019 Pro Bowl, where he helped the NFC win the Skills Showdown.

Philadelphia Eagles

On March 13, 2024, Barkley signed a three-year $37.75 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, of which $26 million was guaranteed over the first two years. The third year was not guaranteed, but the contract's value could increase to $46.75 million with bonuses. Prior to signing with the Eagles, Barkley admitted he was "fed up" with negotiations with the Giants, calling their approach "a little disrespectful". He felt slighted by the team's insistence that he had to prove his value on the open market, which he described as a "slap in the face".

On September 6, 2024, Barkley made his Eagles debut, rushing for 109 yards with two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown in a 34–29 victory over the Green Bay Packers, becoming the first Eagles player to score three touchdowns in their debut with the team since Terrell Owens in 2004. His performance earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week. The following week against the Atlanta Falcons, Barkley rushed for 95 yards and caught four of five passes for 21 yards. However, a late fourth-quarter drop that could have sealed the win for the Eagles proved costly as they would suffer their first loss, 22–21, after the Falcons scored the go-ahead touchdown with 34 seconds remaining. Barkley had 17 carries for 147 yards and scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to lead the Eagles to a 15–12 win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 3. Barkley made his return to MetLife Stadium against the Giants in Week 7, rushing for 176 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in a 28–3 victory over his former team. For his performance, he was declared NFC Offensive Player of the Week, for the second time this season.

In Week 9, Barkley recorded 159 rushing yards and 199 scrimmage yards with two touchdowns, highlighted by a backwards hurdle over Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones, in a 28–23 win, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week. In Week 11 against the Washington Commanders, Barkley finished with 198 total yards and rushed for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Eagles won 26–18. Barkley continued his dominance the following week against the Los Angeles Rams, recording 255 rushing yards and 302 total yards, highlighted by multiple 70-yard touchdowns in the second half as the Eagles won 37–20, netting him his fourth NFC Offensive Player of the Week title for the season. His 255 rushing yards were the ninth-most in a single game in NFL history and the most in Eagles history. In Week 13, Barkley rushed for over 100 yards and recorded a fourth-quarter touchdown for the third consecutive game as the Eagles won 24–19 over the Baltimore Ravens, marking their eighth consecutive victory. A week later, Barkley ran for 124 yards and broke the Eagles' single-season rushing yards record previously set by LeSean McCoy in 2013.

Career statistics

Career highlights

Awards and honors

NFL

Super Bowl champion (LIX)

3× Pro Bowl – (2018, 2022, 2024)

NFL Offensive Player of the Year – (2024)

First-team All-Pro – (2024)

NFL rushing yards leader – (2024)

Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year – (2018)

FedEx Ground Player of the Year – (2018)

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year – (2018)

PFWA All-Rookie Team – (2018)

6× NFL Top 100 - 16th (2019), 31st (2020), 31st (2023), 86th (2024), 1st (2025), 34th (2026)

College

Fiesta Bowl champion, 2017

Six-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, 2017, 2016

ESPN and Sporting News Midseason All American – 2017

Two-time Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week (2017)

Paul Hornung Award, 2017

Consensus All-American, 2017

Sporting News All-American First team, 2017

ESPN First Team All-American, 2017

FWAA First Team All-American, 2017

Records

Most 100+ yards from scrimmage games by a rookie – 12 games

Most 50+ yard touchdowns by a rookie – 5 (tied with Randy Moss)

Most receptions by a rookie running back – 91

Most rushing yards in an NFL season (regular and postseason) – 2,504 yards

Most scrimmage yards in an NFL season (regular and postseason) – 2,857 yards

Most rushing touchdowns in a season by a rookie – 11

Most rushing yards in a season by a rookie – 1,307

Most total touchdowns in a season by a rookie – 15

First Giants' running back to rush for 1,000 yards in each of first two seasons

Most rushing yards in a season – 2,005 (2024)

Most 100 yard rushing games in a season – 12 (2024)

First player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season (2024)

Most rushing yards in a single game – 255 vs. Los Angeles Rams on November 24, 2024

Most total yards from scrimmage in a single game – 302 vs. Los Angeles Rams on November 24, 2024

Most rushing yards in a playoff game – 205 vs. Los Angeles Rams on January 19, 2025

Most career rushing touchdowns: 43

Personal life

On February 2, 2025, Barkley announced his engagement to Anna Congdon, his college sweetheart. The couple have two children.

They live in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

Barkley is a Christian.

In 2018, the Pennsylvania General Assembly voted to make March 14 a state holiday known as "Saquon Barkley Day". Barkley and his family participated in a parade through his hometown of Coplay, Pennsylvania, that included the Whitehall High School marching band and children from the league where Barkley played youth football.

Also in 2018, Barkley was a featured athlete in the 10th Edition of ESPN The Magazine's The Body Issue.

In 2025, Barkley starred in a Super Bowl commercial for the financial technology company Ramp, in which he is an investor. He is also an investor in several other startup companies, among them Anduril Industries.

In June 2025, Barkley was revealed as the cover athlete for Madden 26, becoming the second Eagle after Donovan McNabb for Madden 06 to grace the cover.

In August 2025, Barkley told reporters that he was invited to join President Donald Trump's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, but he declined the offer.