In 1919, Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee controversially sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for a record-setting $100k fee. Boston didn’t win another World Series for 86 years, while Ruth won four in 12 years with the Bronx Bombers. It remains arguably the most infamous trade in North American sports history—and Colin Cowherd believes the Saquon Barkley move from New York to Philly this offseason has the same “feel” to it.
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Barkley’s electric performance on SNF (302 scrimmage yards and two TDs) convinced Cowherd that the New York Giants (who essentially forced Barkley out this offseason) and the Philadelphia Eagles (who paid him what he wanted) are about to go down similar paths to the Sox and Yanks of old.
“Saquon Barkley, from the New York Giants to the rival Eagles, has got a Babe Ruth-Red Sox to the Yankees feel to it… Are the Giants gonna be cursed for 100 years? The last 10 they have been. Saquon now is averaging more yards a carry (6.2)… than the Giants are per pass. Not all front offices are equal…but some are playing chess, like the Eagles, and some are playing Candy Crush, the Giants.”
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Cowherd elaborated, explaining that Barkley was always going to have more success in Philly because of a better cast of supporting characters. He also mentioned that Barkley was pushed out of the Big Apple despite consistently carrying himself with class and love for the city and its fanbase.
“We knew Saquon would be better, because the Giants had a bad o-line, and Saquon was great. And they had a bad quarterback, and Saquon was great. And the Eagles are above average at both. From a guy who was classy, teammates loved him, fans loved him, all he ever wanted to be was a New York Giant.”
“And remember the quote this offseason from Joe Schoen, the New York Giants GM… He said ‘We’re not paying Daniel Jones $40 million to hand off to a $12 million running back.'” Barkley continued.
The Red Sox made a deal with the devil (the rival Yankees), which cursed them for decades to come. It saw the two franchises diverge. Boston became lovable losers, and the Yankees became the biggest sports team in America. It’s not hard to see the parallels Cowherd is drawing here if the first 12 weeks of the 2024 NFL season are anything to go off of.
After the 2022 campaign, the Giants decided to hand iffy QB Daniel Jones a $40 million-a-year contract. That essentially meant they would not be able to pay Barkley what he was worth. Jones was terrible last year, Barkley was solid as usual, and yet they put all their eggs in the Jones basket.
The decision has now blown up in their faces. Barkley signed with their bitterest rival and Jones was so bad through the first 11 games that the Giants cut him outright last week. For years, Barkley had been their best, most exciting, and most popular player, as Giants owner John Mara repeatedly pointed out to general manager Joe Schoen on Hard Knocks this past summer.
As we saw on Hard Knocks, Schoen clearly had a bone to pick with Barkley and his agent. So he was allowed to leave, and Mara’s worst nightmare came true when he headed to the City of Brotherly Love.
Barkley had always been great for the Giants, but a lack of other threatening offensive weapons capped his potential. He was a two-time Pro Bowler in New York and one of the best in the game. However, through 11 contests this season, he has already exceeded or is on pace to exceed every one of his career highs with the G-Men.
Barkley’s 6.2 yards per carry and 1,392 rushing yards are by far career highs. His 10 rush TDs are just one behind his single-season best. And we’ve still got six games to go.
The Giants are headed into what we expect to be a lengthy rebuild. We don’t expect an 86-year drought like the Red Sox, but the Saquon Curse could have lasting effects on Big Blue. The Eagles looked stale last year, but they’re rejuvenated in 2024, and they have Saquon Barkley to thank for that.
Could Saquon and the Eagles be on the cusp of a similar run of success as Babe had with the Yankees in the 1920s?
