Top star incredible season earned him the cover of Madden NFL 26, but Eagles fans might want to stay cautious and not take him for granted just yet.
During an appearance on Chris Long’s Green Light Podcast, he shared some thoughts about his long-term career plans that might make Philadelphia fans a bit uneasy.
“That’s a great question,” he said when asked whether he plans to retire at his peak or play until he can’t anymore. “I’ll probably be one of those guys where it comes out of nowhere. Maybe next year, maybe two or four years from now, I’ll just wake up one day and be like, yeah, it’s over. I don’t think I’ll ever lose that passion.
“My competitive nature is always going to be there. Barry Sanders is probably my favorite player of all time, so maybe something similar. One day, out of nowhere, I might just be ballin’ and then decide to call it quits.”
When Barkley mentioned the possibility of retiring suddenly, many probably thought of Barry Sanders’ unexpected exit. Sanders stunned the football world in 1998 by walking away while still at the peak of his career, finishing with 15,269 rushing yards—just shy of Walter Payton’s then all-time record. Over time, Sanders has slipped to fourth place behind Emmitt Smith, Frank Gore, and Payton.
What made Sanders’ retirement so surprising was that he was still an elite running back at the time. The same could be said about Barkley, who enters 2025 fresh off a historic 2,000-yard rushing season and a Super Bowl LIX victory in his first year with the Eagles—a performance that earned him a two-year extension worth \$41.2 million in new money.
With such a deal, the expectation is that Barkley will stay among the NFL’s best for years. Yet, his candid remarks hinted that those years might not come.
Barkley’s career rushing total currently stands at 7,216 yards—far behind Sanders’ final tally—and he’s still three seasons short of the decade Sanders played before retiring. Plus, Barkley has four years left on his contract with Philadelphia.
Eagles fans will likely remind themselves of those facts to ease their worries. But hearing Barkley openly acknowledge that his football journey might not be as long as expected is sure to give pause to those still riding high from Philadelphia’s dominant Super Bowl LIX win over Kansas City.
He’s not retiring tomorrow, but as Barkley implied, fans should savor every moment while he’s here.