PHILADELPHIA -- The Eagles are rewarding Saquon Barkley for his historic season with a two-year, $41.2 million contract extension that makes him the highest-paid running back in NFL history, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Tuesday.
The deal, which includes $36 million guaranteed at signing, makes Barkley the NFL's first running back getting more than $20 million per year. He has the ability to earn an additional $15 million in incentives and escalators.
The Eagles later announced Barkley's extension but did not disclose financial terms.
"Overflow! Grateful for the Eagles Organization , grateful for my team, grateful for the amazing fans in Philly. Fly Eagles Fly," Barkley posted to X on Tuesday.
Barkley had one of the best seasons ever by a running back. He rushed for 2,504 yards over the regular season and the postseason, breaking the single-season record previously held by Terrell Davis while leading his new team on its Super Bowl run.
Though Barkley had a chance to take down Eric Dickerson's regular-season rushing title as well, the Eagles decided to rest their starters in the finale against Barkley's former team, the New York Giants, leaving him 101 yards shy of Dickerson's mark of 2,105 yards.
Barkley's success prompted the Eagles to take the rare step of extending a player one year into his deal -- and in the same league year in which they signed him to the initial contract.
Last March, the Eagles made a splash by inking Barkley to a three-year, $38 million contract. That seemed out of character for Philadelphia, which hasn't always been willing to allocate significant resources to the running back position.
But with running back salaries largely depressed across the league relative to other skill positions, the Eagles identified an inefficiency in the market, and they believed Barkley would be revitalized by joining a team with better complementary players around him compared with what he experienced in New York.
Entering last offseason, the top-paid back in the league, Christian McCaffrey, was making $16 million a year on average. There were just six running backs making more than $10 million a year, including Barkley at about $13 million.
Meanwhile, 16 wide receivers were averaging $20 million or more per season while 13 others stood at $10 million or more, including some who weren't the primary pass-catching option on their squad.
"Has the pendulum swung so far at this position? I mean, the guy touches the ball 300 times a year, hopefully," general manager Howie Roseman said last March. "There's not a lot of other skill position players that are touching the ball that many times and having that effect."
With this deal, the pendulum could swing back toward running backs.
Barkley, 28, has rushed for 7,216 yards and 48 touchdowns over seven seasons with the Giants and Eagles. He was named to his third Pro Bowl this past season, was selected as a first-team All-Pro and won the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year award.