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Saquon Barkley knows exactly what it’s like to be stiff in a sport with a salary cap.
The Philadelphia Eagles running back rushed for 2,000 yards and won an Offensive Player of the Year Award just one season after the New York Giants decided not to pay him.
Running backs got the short end of the stick before a recent resurgence when general managers thought the position was barely worth it. The best still get paid, but there was a lot of recycling throughout the league.
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Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) carries during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
In any case, many tough decisions are made in football, whereas baseball remains a no-holds-barred sport, resulting in $700 million contracts and no losses.
But MLB owners have officially proposed a salary cap for the first time since 1994 — and we all know how that turned out. The players have remained steadfast in saying a salary cap is non-negotiable, and Barkley backs them up.
“Whatever’s best for the players, I’m all for it. Whatever’s for the players,” Barkley told Pakinomist Digital.
“I understand how the owners have the power and stuff, but we go out there and sacrifice our bodies. Athletes go out there and sacrifice their bodies. I’m not under the pressure of, ‘Oh, you’re an athlete. Go out there and do what you’re told.’ I don’t agree with that at all. You must be compensated for what you do, and however you must be, so be it. If that’s what they over there think they should have and it will benefit them and help them provide for their families even more, why not? It should happen.”
Commissioner of Major League Baseball Robert D. Manfred speaks during the 2026 All-Star Legacy Veterans Multi-Service Center renovation at the Veterans Multi-Service Center on Monday, July 13, 2026, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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Sure, Barkley and other athletes are probably a little jealous, and he admitted he feels a responsibility as “quote-unquote, one of the faces of the league.”
“I don’t know if that’s going to happen for us. I think we’ve got a little more work to do for that. We’ve got to continue to be more vocal. We’ve got to continue to educate ourselves about it. … I’ve got to do it. I actually had this conversation the other day with my family. But yeah, I’m all for the players and I think that’s great for them,” Barley says.
Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles takes the field prior to the NFC Wild Card playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field on January 11, 2026 in Philadelphia. (Getty Images)
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MLB is likely headed for an owner’s lockout if the two sides can’t agree on a new collective bargaining agreement by Dec. 1, but the salary cap is each side’s top priority, and they couldn’t be further apart on the issue.
