Saquon Barkley on free agency, 'Hard Knocks': 'Giants were never really in it' (2024)

As we’ve watched the first three episodes of “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants,” we knew we were only getting one side of the Saquon Barkley saga — the Giants’ side. Now we’re hearing Barkley’s side of the story.

The superstar running back sat down with The Athletic’s Dianna Russini on the latest episode of the “Scoop City” podcast to discuss, among other topics, his complicated departure from the Giants in March during NFL free agency.

Here’s what we learned from Barkley’s chat with Russini.

Has Barkley even watched ‘Hard Knocks’?

Though Barkley’s seen clips on social media, he told Russini he’s only watched one episode, and you can probably guess which one: No. 3, which was centered on free agency and Barkley’s decision to leave New York and join the Giants’ bitter rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.

“I had to watch that one because, you know, the trailer that came out for this one, my Twitter was blowing up and was like, ‘You lie. You lie. Like we offered you,’” Barkley said on the podcast. “I guess the trailer showed (general manager) Joe (Schoen) saying the numbers, but I think he said ‘If.’ I had to make sure that I wasn’t going to look like a liar.”

Overall, Barkley thought the episode was “cool” and “unique,” acknowledging that though he lived through the saga, he never experienced it through the lens HBO was providing.

What did Barkley think about the show’s portrayal of his negotiations?

Barkley explained that though the show has portrayed his storyline as a primary one in the Giants offseason, there weren’t many conversations with the Giants in the months leading up to free agency. They talked once after the season and then again during that infamous phone call with Schoen that everyone witnessed on “Hard Knocks.” There was another after he signed with Philadelphia.

“They really weren’t in play,” Barkley explained to Russini. “When you look at ‘Hard Knocks,’ it (makes it) seem like, ‘Oh, this was a thing that was going on every single day,’ but it really wasn’t.”

Barkley agreed to a one-year deal with the Giants last summer after receiving the franchise tag right ahead of the tag deadline. He felt like last offseason would have been “a little juicier” for the “Hard Knocks” cameras.

“Joe (Schoen), he made a comment saying, that it took 10 years off his life,” Barkley said. “Like, if it took 10 years off your life, what do you think it did for me?”

When thinking back to last summer, Barkley said his frustrations with the Giants stemmed not from his teammates’ (Daniel Jones, Andrew Thomas and Dexter Lawrence) getting paid or that Jones’ deal happened in the minutes ahead of the tag deadline, but that he never got a “fair negotiation” once he was tagged.

“So when they tag me, now they have all the leverage, and it’s just like, ‘OK, I get you have all the leverage and you should do this. You’re doing your job,” Barkley said. “But at the end of day, can I get some respect, too? Can we get this thing going? Can we find a way, like the same way how you found a way to get DJ done, how you got Dexter and Andrew done. Could we have found a way to get me done?”

Now, however, Barkley believes he came out on top after playing on the tag and signing his new deal with the Eagles. When Barkley sat down with his family this offseason to decide where he’d play in 2024, the Giants weren’t even among the final three teams in his mind.

“The whole time, me and my agent were talking on our side, it was like, we don’t think the Giants are even going to do anything,” Barkley said.

What about the phone call with Schoen we saw on ‘Hard Knocks’?

Barkley received some negative feedback for the way he sounded on the phone during a call with Schoen ahead of free agency. Barkley explained that though the tone people heard is how he typically answers the phone, he also was a little “fed up” at that time. He and the team spoke after the season with Barkley communicating that he still wanted to be a Giant. Barkley’s representatives and the Giants spoke at the NFL Scouting Combine, but the Giants never sent him an offer for fear of being “disrespectful” — as Schoen put it on “Hard Knocks.”

“It felt like the only way like the Giants wanted me was if I was able to go show my worth to someone. Like I (had) to go prove that a team would want to pay me,” Barkley said on the podcast. “So then maybe they would want to pay.”

About that phone call, Barkley added that he didn’t want to come off “begging” to return to New York. Barkley gave kudos to Schoen for sticking to his gut on his price point. But at the same time, Barkley said it was a little “disrespectful.”

“It’s kind of like a slap in the face (to say), ‘You go see what you are worth, and then if you’re worth that, we’ll see if you’re worth it, and maybe we’ll match it.’”

When did he know his time with Giants was over?

“It was over after that phone call, in my opinion,” Barkley told Russini. “It was over after that because I never in my heart truly believed they were going to match it, or they only wanted me for a lower price.”

We watched the #Giants side play out on Hard Knocks…now here’s Saquon Barkley’s version.

The Philadelphia #Eagle joins Scoop City in an exclusive interview on Tuesday. #ScoopCity

🎤https://t.co/Gx1G2MzGMs pic.twitter.com/Pz7dBbQ91p

— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) July 22, 2024

Barkley’s concern was if the Giants did match, because he had already removed himself from the situation. The running back said his agent even played a prank on him by telling him the Giants had matched the offer, causing Barkley to drop the phone and yell, “Oh, my God,” while the agent laughed before telling him the truth.

What was the reaction after he signed with Philadelphia?

If you were on social media at all during free agency, you saw the hate Barkley received after signing with a division rival. Barkley said he had a “legit” goodbye video ready for Giants fans but decided against sharing it due to the fan reaction. “That was just really immature of me. That’s the one thing of that whole process that I kind of regret.”

On “Hard Knocks,” team co-owner John Mara reacted to Barkley’s departure before it even happened, saying in the third episode, “I’m going to have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philly, I’ll tell you that.”

After he decided to sign with Philadelphia, Barkley said he texted Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch to thank them for his time in New York. Barkley added that coach Brian Daboll called him and that he also spoke with Schoen.

Has Barkley thought about what his first game back at MetLife Stadium will be like?

Barkley knows the Eagles travel to MetLife in Week 7 but said the most important thing is an Eagles win.

“The competitor in me wants to go there and go crazy, but what do I get?” Barkley said. “You know, I mean if I go out there and play well, like play really well, what do I get at the end of day? The most important thing is about winning.”

Barkley brought up the story of when he went out just for him and ended up tearing his knee during his third season. He doesn’t want a repeat of not playing a game for the love of it and for his teammates.

“Dabs, Joe, Daniel Jones, all them can come out that week and say the craziest stuff about me. As a competitor, I’m going to be passionate about it, but like that game is strictly just another game to me. But knowing the magnitude of it, it’s not another game because it’s the Giants. It’s the Giants. I’m going to treat it just like when we play Dallas. I’m going to treat it just like when we play Washington. I’m gonna go out there and try to ball out for the sake of the team.”

(Photo: Candice Ward / Getty Images)

Charlotte Carroll covers the New York Giants for The Athletic. She previously covered the University of Connecticut basketball and the WNBA's Connecticut Sun for The Athletic and wrote for Sports Illustrated. She interned at The Denver Post and Field & Stream magazine. Follow Charlotte on Twitter @charlottecrrll