Former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley became public enemy No. 1 after signing with the division rival Philadelphia Eagles this week. Barkley, 27, agreed to a massive new deal after six very productive seasons with the Giants that elevated him to one of the elite dual-threat backs in the NFL.
He received three years and $37.5 million with $26 million fully guaranteed at signing, sources told ESPN. Barkley, who grew up in the Lehigh Valley, about an hour and a half from Philadelphia, is returning home.
Tiki Barber and Giants Fans Attack Saquon Barkley
Giants fans were up in arms, mad at the franchise for not coming with a respectable bag and mad at Barkley for leaving them to sign with an enemy team.
The most vocal of these Barkley haters was Tiki Barber, a three-time Pro Bowl running back with New York from 1997-2006, who has been a media personality since his retirement in 2007.
Barber said Monday that Barkley was “dead to us” after he agreed to a three-year deal with the Giants’ NFC East rival, the Philadelphia Eagles.
“He’s dead to us,” Barber said on local New York sports radio station WFAN, where he co-hosts the afternoon drive show alongside Evan Roberts. “You’re dead to me.”
Of course, social media is like the playground in elementary school and word travels fast.
Barkley fired back via a post on X: “you’re the prime example of loyalty to a team.. I got the deal I wanted, secured more (guaranteed money) which wasn’t given to me before… so if fans are gonna hate me for that so be it! But I never turned my back on my teammates and always had theirs.”
Barkley added: “You been a hater since I got to New York … and all the ‘Dead to me’ talk don’t smile in my face when you see me.”
Barkley, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2018 draft, spent the first six seasons of his career with the Giants and despite missing some games due to injury and almost a full season in 2020, was the only bright spot for a franchise that has struggle for years since the departure of future Hall of Fame quarterback Eli Manning.
Tiki was already setting Barkley up for failure when last week he told the New York Post:
“That Saquon would even contemplate going to play for that team in Philadelphia is insulting to his Giants legacy. Do not go to the Eagles, because if you do that appreciation and respect and reverence that we all have for you, Saquon, will be lost. It will be gone. We want to still respect and love him.”
Barber was clearly trolling, but Barkley didn’t find it funny. Barber has become the media voice of the Giants since his retirement, and he bangs the drum hard for his former team.
Barkley did thank Giants fans in a social media post earlier Monday.
Thank you to everyone who has shown me love and support over the past 6 years … forever grateful!” he wrote on X. “Excited for the next chapter.
Fans were split on the move, as far as who they wanted to blame. Of course, Giants fans are just outraged that Barkley left them. Some fans blame the organization for low-balling Barkley under the “runningbacks have been devalued” philosophy that is pervading the league.
Others expressed their grief by saying they were happy the “injury prone” running back was gone.
The emotions were flying all across the league, as some prominent players switched teams and changed the league’s power structure.
Philly fans who were skittish on the move were easily won over by the fact that they could stick it to the Giants and snatch their best player. Barber’s character attacks on Barkley were personal, so, naturally, Eagles fans started digging up Barber’s personal skeletons.
Philadelphia Eagles Fans Rehash Tiki’s Marital Issues Of The Past
Back in 2010, Barber was a “Today” show contributor and announced that he had separated from wife Ginny Cha after 11 years together. The couple, who are since divorced, had two sons together at the time and one on the way, as his wife was eight months’ pregnant.
The former Giants running back was rumored to have had an affair with a 23-year-old one-time NBC intern who also babysat their kids, Traci Lynn Johnson.
Barber denied that he cheated while his wife was pregnant, but the evidence was overwhelming, as the Post reported that Barber and Johnson’s affair was more than just a fling and that they began sleeping together in 2008, when she was a 21-year-old college student. Tiki would lavish her with gifts of roses, jewelry, designer clothes, and she even flaunted her “boyfriend’s” blue Maserati on Facebook.
All parties have moved on, and this was nearly 15 years ago, but that shows you how deep the hate is between Giants and Eagles fans. And it was a reminder to Tiki that he crossed a line and also added more fuel to the longstanding rivalry when he said Saquon was dead to Giants fans.
Did Giants Blow It?
Maybe Saquon’s replacement, Devin Singletary, formerly a Houston Texan, can fill the void, because he’s talented, but he has yet to put together a run like Barkley, who in his five full seasons with the Giants rushed for 5,211 yards with 35 rushing TDs and had 288 catches with 12 receiving touchdowns.
Barber’s comments and the vitriol towards Barkley slung by Giants fans all over social media, has done nothing but make his transition to the Eagles much easier.
The fan base will embrace him totally now that it has been confirmed that Barkley’s departure is one of the most painful moments for Giants fans in their team’s illustrious history.
