Giants Country

Saquon Barkley Shares Realistic View on Loyalty

Don't expect Saquon Barkley to give the Giants a hometown discount in his next contract negotiations because of any loyalty shown by the team.

Patricia Traina

Saquon Barkley Shares Realistic View on Loyalty
Saquon Barkley Shares Realistic View on Loyalty /
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Given the state of their offense, the New York Giants might have to ride on the efforts of running back Saquon Barkley to get anything going.

But if anyone is hoping for Barkley, who will be an unrestricted free agent again after this season, to "reward" the Giants for allowing him to put more of his skills on display with a hometown discount, think again.

"Loyalty means nothing," Barkley said on Thursday. "No matter how loyal, no matter how committed you are, it's a business at the end of the day. That's something that I've learned."

He was, of course, referring to his failed attempt at getting a new multiyear contract from the Giants last off-season. Instead, Barkley was slapped with the franchise tag, signing a modified tag for just over $1 million more than the original $10 million tag.

The added money, though, was contingent on the Giants reaching the postseason, something that, while still mathematically alive at 2-8, the odds are greatly stacked against them.

Barkley plans to continue going about his business and do what is asked of him each week while still being competitive, even if it means he'll have more miles on his legs, which one would think would diminish his overall market value.

"Just the way the business is when you're a premier back in this league--not to talk about myself--they feed you the ball because it helps you and gives you an opportunity to win games more times than not," he said. 

"When it comes to contract or a certain time, you're a running back, you're having so much miles on you. It's a crazy thought process. I try my best not to think about that, or I would go insane. I just try to keep my focus on the love of the game and take care of my body," he said. 

"Whenever the opportunity comes that I have to talk about the contracts again, whether it's with the Giants or with another team, hopefully, I'm able to pull up film and pull up numbers to be able to get myself a contract that's the best for me and my family."

Despite the state of the franchise, Barkley has never changed his tune about wanting to be a Giant for life.

"Every single one in this locker room, the majority of us, have been playing this game since we were little kids and dream about being in these moments and playing in the NFL. So, that’s kind of the way I look at it," he said. 

"Just take advantage of the opportunity. Obviously, we're not where we want to be. The season how it’s going right now sucks, but we’ve still got a lot of games, and mathematically we still technically aren’t out of it. You never know what could happen."

 

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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