Revisiting Giants owner John Mara's 'Hard Knocks' comments on Saquon Barkley signing

The Philadelphia Eagles host the Los Angeles Rams Sunday in a contest to decide a spot in the NFC conference championship game. The No. 2 seed Eagles dispatched the No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers 22-10 in the wild card round; the No. 4 seed Rams ran over the No. 5 seed Minnesota Vikings 27-9.

Philadelphia's offense was a top-10 scoring unit once again this season. The Eagles' biggest improvement came in the running game as Philadelphia was the NFL's no. 2-ranked rushing offense in 2024.

The difference maker in the ground game was free agent acquisition Saquon Barkley.

The former New York Giants running back became just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards or more in the regular season. Barkley had led the NFL with 2,005 rushing yards in 16 regular season games this season.

The Giants opted not to re-sign or place the franchise tag on Barkley before the 2024 season. Football fans got a view into the decision-making process in New York thanks to the "Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants" show on Max. That process included a conversation that, with the benefit of hindsight, did not age well between Giants general manager Joe Schoen and Giants owner John Mara.

Saquon Barkley contract details: Where Eagles star ranks among highest-paid RBs

Giants owner John Mara on Saquon Barkley going to Philadelphia

The Giants' decision not to re-sign Barkley was the main storyline of episode three of the show. It culminated with a conversation between Schoen and Mara, along with other Giants front office employees.

"What's the latest, just on the Saquon thing?" Mara asked Schoen.

"I just got a text that Chicago's driving the price up and [Philadelphia]'s out," Schoen answered. "I don't know if that's true or not... I'll make a couple calls, I don't even know if that's going to happen."

"I'm going to have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I'll tell you that," Mara said. "As I've told you. I'm just being honest. I haven't been around enough players but he's the most popular player we have by far."

As it turned out, Philadelphia was not out. The Bears ended up signing former Eagles running back D'Andre Swift and Barkley made his way to Philadelphia.

Schoen was later seen on the show speaking on the phone with Ed Berry, Barkley's agent. Berry seemed to say some contract specifics for what Barkley was being offered and Schoen firmly said "we're out," taking the Giants out of the running to re-sign him.

"Is [the team he's signing with] in the division?" Schoen asked Berry. "I'm trying to prepare myself mentally for what's going to happen."

Saquon Barkley responds to Mara comments

Barkley has stated publicly that the Giants never made an official offer to him in the offseason.

The Giants were told a three-year deal at $12.5 million per year and at least $25 million guaranteed could get a deal done. The Eagles exceeded those numbers, ultimately giving Barkley a three-year, $37.75 million deal with $26 million in guaranteed money.

Barkley later poked fun at Mara's comments about having trouble sleeping with in an advertisement for Unisom, a sleep aid.

Mara was asked about the advertisement days later and joked that he was "upset" by it. He told Barkley that he should've been featured in it.

"I told him I was upset with him based on our relationship of so many years," Mara said. "He said, 'what do you mean?' I said the least you could've done is asked me to be in the commercial with you. I could've been tossing and turning...

There is an acting gene in our family, it's not just my nieces."

Mara was referring to his nieces, Rooney and Kate Mara, both successful actresses.

Saquon Barkley stats

In 2024, Barkley set career-highs with 345 carries for 2,005 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. He also had 33 catches for 278 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Giants owner John Mara's 'Hard Knocks' comments on Saquon Barkley