Saquon Barkley Detailed Giants’ Refusal of Trade Request in New Documentary

Saquon Barkley’s five-year documentary project, “Saquon,” premiered Thursday on Prime Video in conjunction with Amazon’s broadcast of the Philadelphia Eagles versus New York Giants game. Filmed continuously from 2020 through 2025, the production documented his ACL surgery and recovery, contract negotiations with the Giants, and his eventual transition to the Eagles, concluding with Philadelphia’s Super Bowl LIX victory.

According to The New York Post, which viewed the documentary before its release, filming began on the day Barkley underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL in 2020. The film followed him through nearly five years of events, including his 18-month contract standoff with the Giants from November 2022 through March 2024. The project captured his private reflections, training, and frustrations throughout that period.

The documentary showed that during the summer of 2023, specifically in July — the final day for franchise-tagged players to sign long-term extensions — Barkley requested permission from Giants co-owner John Mara to pursue a trade. Mara denied the request. According to Barkley, Mara told him, “I’m not going to do that. That makes no sense for us. To be honest with you, it’s not going to be in your long-term best interest to do that. There’s no way that I would allow that at this point. You are too valuable to this franchise.”

The film also depicted Barkley’s ongoing tension with general manager Joe Schoen. Months before the exchange with Mara, Schoen told Barkley that ownership would not approve a trade, though he could have his agent contact other teams privately to gauge interest. In one scene, as Barkley played Madden, Schoen said, “You sure you think this is the right course of action?” and stated that the team had already “stretched to put you in very good company over a lot of other backs.”

Between March and July 2023, Barkley changed representation, moving from agent Kim Miale to Ed Berry. The switch reportedly allowed contract talks to gain some traction, but the parties remained apart. According to The Post, the final offers exchanged between Barkley and the Giants were less than $2 million apart in both total value and guaranteed money on a proposed three-year deal.

Barkley said he would have accepted a contract paying $10 million to $11 million per year if he had believed the team “operated a whole different way” and genuinely tried to complete a deal. When no long-term agreement was reached, Barkley signed a one-year adjusted franchise tag valued at $10.1 million guaranteed, which could reach $11 million with incentives and included a $2 million signing bonus.

During the 2023 season, Barkley rushed for 962 yards and scored six touchdowns in 14 games. The Giants finished with a 6–11 record and did not trade him at the November deadline, despite holding a 2–6 record at that point.

The documentary also revisited Barkley’s strained history with former Giants running back Tiki Barber. After Barber publicly criticized Barkley’s pass blocking and physical play in 2020, Barkley considered wearing a Barber jersey at Soldier Field for the Giants’ game against the Chicago Bears to make a statement. Instead, Barkley tore his ACL in that game and later described spending 20 minutes crying in the shower afterward.

In another segment, Barkley claimed that after he declined the Giants’ initial contract offer during the team’s bye week in 2022, he was given 35 carries in the next game, a win over the Houston Texans that improved the team’s record to 7–2. Barkley described feeling as if the team was trying to “run [him] into the dirt,” saying, “It was a joke. It really was a spit in my face. And then come out here and give me the ball 35 times. They really don’t appreciate me… They think they are trying to run me into the dirt, get what they can get, and then hopefully something bad happens so he can f—ing go somewhere else.”

The documentary further revealed that Barkley’s daughter predicted he would one day play for the Eagles. On March 7, 2023, the day he was franchise-tagged, she told him it would be “cool” to play near her grandparents in Philadelphia. Barkley’s longtime friend James Wah also predicted he would end up in Philadelphia.

One year later, after the Giants declined to tag him again, Barkley signed a three-year contract with the Eagles worth $37.75 million, with potential incentives raising the total value to $46.75 million and $26 million guaranteed.

In his first season with the Eagles, Barkley rushed for a combined 2,504 yards, including playoffs, won the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award, and helped the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX. The Giants finished the same season with a 3–14 record.

Leading up to the documentary’s release and the Eagles–Giants game, sportsbooks listed Philadelphia as a significant favorite. FanDuel and other major operators posted the Eagles as 7.5-point road favorites, with a game total of approximately 40.5 points. FanDuel’s moneyline closed near –388 for the Eagles and +303 for the Giants.

Player prop markets focused heavily on Barkley’s return to MetLife Stadium. FanDuel listed Barkley around –160 to score a touchdown and set his rushing yard total near 85.5. DraftKings offered his rushing attempts prop at Over 18.5 (–127), and BetMGM listed his longest rush prop at Over 18.5 yards (–125).

Injury reports confirmed the Eagles ruled out guard Landon Dickerson (ankle) and tight end Grant Calcaterra (oblique). Defensive tackle Jalen Carter (heel) and linebacker Nakobe Dean (knee) were listed as questionable. For the Giants, wide receiver Darius Slayton was ruled out, and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor was a game-time decision.