Eagles star Saquon Barkley reveals stunning retirement plans

Saquon Barkley has put the NFL on notice in a totally unexpected way.

The Philadelphia Eagles running back is thinking retirement — already having considered when it might happen.

He figures it’ll be a lot like Lions legend Barry Sanders, a totally out of the blue announcement.

“I’ll probably be one of those guys that it’ll be out of nowhere. I’ll probably just wake up one day, whether it’s next year or two years or four years, and just be like, ‘Yeah, it’s over,’” Barkley said on Chris Long’s podcast.

Barkley is 28 years old. Sanders was 30 when he retired right before training camp after having just completed a Pro Bowl season.

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“One of my favorite players of all time, probably my favorite player of all time, is Barry Sanders, so probably similar to that,” Barkley said. “Maybe one day it’ll be out of nowhere. I’ll probably be ballin’ and just be like, yeah, call it quits.”

The Eagles are defending Super Bowl champs in large part because of Barkley and his 2,000-yard masterpiece of a 2024 season after signing in Philly as a free agent.

Barkley’s thinking isn’t totally foreign in this era of the NFL. More and more players are retiring early.

Just this week, Lions lineman Frank Ragnow and veteran cornerback Ronald Darby both announced their retirements despite having solid opportunity to play in the 2025 season.

Barkley will have earned nine-figures by the time his career is over, just in salary, assuming he doesn’t hang his cleats up in the next two seasons. Money won’t be an issue.

It seems Barkley, like Sanders, may want to exit the stage while he’s still at his best.

Most players retire after we’ve seen their decline to a mortal state rather than their superhero pro athlete level. 

Barkley may choose not to be that guy. He didn’t lay out exactly when his retirement is coming, but that just raises the suspense — the conclusion to Barkley’s football career is coming, maybe faster than anyone thought.

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