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‘Hard Knocks’ Rejuvenates Franchise With Must-Watch Offseason Version

“Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants” pulls back the curtain on the inner workings of the front office highlighted by Saquon Barkley negotiations.

Jimmy Traina

A big theme through the first three episodes was contract negotiations with Barkley, who ended up leaving New York for Philadelphia.
A big theme through the first three episodes was contract negotiations with Barkley, who ended up leaving New York for Philadelphia. / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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1. I said on last week’s SI Media Podcast that I wasn’t watching this new, offseason version of Hard Knocks because with the Giants having final edit control, I didn’t think there would be anything interesting on the show.

I was 100% wrong.

With nothing going on in the sports world over the past couple of days, I binged all three episodes of Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants that have aired so far and I think the offseason version is better than the regular version that airs in August.

To the Giants' credit, they’ve allowed Hard Knocks to air more inside stuff than I ever would’ve imagined.

A big theme through the first three episodes was the contract negotiations with running back Saquon Barkley, who ended up leaving New York for Philadelphia.

Cameras caught Giants owner John Mara telling general manager Joe Schoen, “I’ll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that, as I’ve told you. Just being honest. He’s the most popular player we have by far.”


Cameras also caught Schoen getting the call from Barkley’s agent that the running back had a bigger offer from another team. “We’re not gonna go there. We’re out. Is it in the division? I’m trying to prepare myself mentally for what’s gonna happen.”

This turn of events made for great television, especially since earlier in the episode, Schoen revealed that it was the Bears who were driving up the price on Barkley.

In addition, the Giants and Hard Knocks also showed you the front office meetings that were held to discuss possible replacements for Barkley. We heard various people in the New York organization share opinions on Josh Jacobs, Zack Moss, D’Andre Swift, Tony Pollard and Devin Singletary, who the Giants eventually signed to replace Barkley.

With the Barkley saga over, it appears the show will focus on the Giants’ quarterback situation next week. Previews showed New York wanting to draft a quarterback. We know that didn’t happen. So is the team “stuck” with Daniel Jones? How does Jones feel about his team publicly wanting to bring in his replacement?

I’m pleasantly surprised we can ask these questions because I never would’ve expected the Giants to pull back the curtain the way they have for Hard Knocks and the result is a must-watch show.

2. Speaking of must-watches, Fox’s Tom Rinaldi interviewed Bob Uecker for the network’s All-Star Game coverage.

3. With the NBA recently agreeing to a new $76 billion television deal, this chart explaining how the four major sports leagues in the U.S. make their money is timely and informative.

For all the talk about baseball dying, I’d bet many of you are surprised to see MLB garners the same revenue as the NBA.

4. Fun story here from Oakland A’s closer Mason Miller, who said Bryce Harper wanted to face him last weekend when Oakland played Philadelphia to see what Miller’s hype was all about. But after Harper saw Miller throw 104 mph, he changed his mind.

5. We told you in Tuesday’s Traina Thoughts about the frenzy surrounding the release of College Football 25. It appears Patrick Mahomes is part of that frenzy.

6.  The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an interview with Sports Business Journal NFL reporter Ben Fischer.

Fischer covered the antitrust trial in which a jury ordered the NFL to pay $4.7 billion for violating antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service. How much will Sunday Ticket customers get and when? What are the NFL’s chances to win an appeal? What does the verdict mean for how the NFL will distribute games in the future? Will the NFL ever sell single-team or single-game packages? What revelations came out of the trial?

Fischer also talks about what's going on with the NFL Network, the cancellation of the popular Around the NFL podcast, moving Good Morning Football out of New York, and more.

Following Fischer, Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include Joe Burrow’s idea for the NFL schedule, the backlash aimed at LeBron James for playing with Bronny James, the Yankees’ woes and much more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: I recently finished Michael Richards’s new book, Entrances and Exits. I recommend it for any Seinfeld fan. In the book, Richards talked about the famous scene in the "Parking Garage" episode in which he gets hit in the face with the trunk after trying to slam it shut. The video is a full breakdown of everything that happened in that scene and it’s great.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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