By Sunday 
Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley has never shied away from doing things his own way. But in a recent podcast appearance, he dropped a bombshell that could reshape how fans think about the tail end of his career — and it sounds a lot like the quiet, shocking exit of NFL legend Barry Sanders.
“I’ll Probably Just Wake Up One Day…”
During an episode of The Green Light podcast with Chris Long, Barkley got candid about the future. When asked whether he plans to grind until the wheels fall off or call it quits early, his response caught many off guard.
“I’ll probably be one of those guys that it’ll be out of nowhere,” Barkley said. “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.’”
That sounds eerily similar to the way Sanders bowed out of the game in 1999. At just 30 years old and still playing elite football, Sanders walked away from the Detroit Lions — and the NFL — leaving fans stunned. Barkley, now 28, is clearly inspired by that type of exit.
“One of my favorite players of all time, probably my favorite player of all time, is Barry Sanders,” Barkley said. “So probably similar to that… I’ll probably be ballin’ and just be like, ‘Yeah’ and call it quits.”
Riding High After a Career Year
It would be easy to chalk this up to offseason chatter — if Barkley wasn’t coming off the best year of his career. His 2024 campaign was nothing short of historic: 2,005 rushing yards, a Super Bowl ring, and a newly signed two-year, $41.2 million contract that made him the highest-paid running back in NFL history.
That kind of season puts Barkley in rare air. Only eight other players in league history have hit the 2,000-yard mark. One of them? You guessed it — Barry Sanders.
So while Barkley is under contract with the Eagles through 2028, a surprise retirement after the 2025 season — following a Sanders-like encore — wouldn’t be completely out of left field.
Barkley’s Future: A Timeline to Watch
Realistically, Barkley still has plenty left in the tank. He’ll turn 30 in February 2027, just shy of when Sanders called it quits after his 10th season. If Barkley sticks around until the end of his current deal, he’d match Sanders with a decade in the league.
But it’s that “out of nowhere” line that sticks. Barkley doesn’t sound like someone clinging to the game out of necessity. He sounds like someone who wants to go out on his own terms — while still at the top.
And unlike Sanders, who left a franchise stuck in neutral, Barkley is now with a team built to win. The Eagles have shown him nothing but love, from the contract extension to putting him in the center of an already explosive offense. That kind of support might keep him around — or make it easier to walk away satisfied.
Final Whistle or Just Talk?
For now, Barkley is gearing up for another big season. But if he does decide to pull a Barry Sanders, the signs were there all along.
Either way, enjoy watching him while you can — because if Saquon Barkley decides it’s time, we might not get a long goodbye. We’ll just wake up one day and it’ll be over.
And honestly? That feels very on-brand.