When the Philadelphia Eagles made Saquon Barkley the highest paid running back in NFL history with a historic, 2-year, $41.2 million contract extension, it wasn’t for what he did in his first season with the franchise. It was for what they think he can do in the future.
For Vegas oddsmakers, at least, that means making Barkley the odds-on favorite to do what no NFL player has done in 25 years — win consecutive NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors.
According to Vegas Insider, Barkley is a runaway favorite to repeat as the award’s winner at +500 odds on Bet MGM and +650 odds on ESPN Bet. After Barkley, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase (+900) and Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (+1000) were next up.
Barkley was nothing short of a revelation in his first season with the Eagles in 2024, becoming just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season and helping lead his team to a Super Bowl win.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news of Barkley’s historic contract.
“Eagles are rewarding Saquon Barkley with a two-year, $41.2 million contract extension that makes him the highest-paid running back in NFL history, per sources,” Schefter wrote on his official X account on March 4. “The deal makes Barkley the NFL’s first $20 million+ per-year running back. Barkley also has the ability to earn an additional $15 million in incentives and escalators. The deal includes $36 million fully guaranteed at signing. The Eagles are taking the rare step of extending Barkley one year into his three-year deal — and in the same league year in which they signed him to the initial contract.”
Hall of Famer Last to Repeat as NFL Offensive POY
Take a little trip in our Football Time Machine with us and go back to the turn of the century … to a a time when running backs ruled over every level of the sport.
How dominant? In a 10-year stretch from 1994 to 2003, running backs were named NFL Offensive Player of the Year 9 times. That included the last player to repeat as winner, regardless of position, when Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk won 3 consecutive years from 1999 to 2001.
Faulk, who is currently the running backs coach at the University of Colorado, is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the only running back in NFL history with 12,000 yards rushing and 6,000 yards receiving
Since 2007, only one non-quarterback has won NFL Most Valuable Player with Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson in 2012.
Barkley, Eagles Shouldn’t Try to Emulate 2K Rushing Mark
The path to the Eagles repeating as Super Bowl champions — which is the team’s overriding goal — probably shouldn’t include Barkley repeating his feat as a 2,000 yard rusher in 2025.
It’s also worth pointing out that of the 8 previous players who cracked the mark in NFL history, none ever did it again. Of those 8 players, only Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis in 1998 had also paired the achievement with winning a Super Bowl before Barkley.
Davis is also the last running back to earn Super Bowl MVP honors, which he also did following the 1998 season.
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