Madden Cover Athletes: Saquon Barkley Joins Odell Beckham Jr. to Add Salt to the Giants’ Wounds

After one of the most electric rushing seasons in NFL history, Saquon Barkley is now, quite literally, the poster child of the league. The star running back of the Philadelphia Eagles is the official cover athlete of EA Sports’ Madden Football 26, placing him amongst the likes of Odell Beckham Jr., Patrick Mahomes, and Tom Brady, and several others, as one of only 24 NFL players in history to ever grace the Madden cover.

Barkley is the first Eagles player to appear on the cover since Donovan McNabb in 2006, exactly 20 editions ago. He’s also the first running back to receive the honor since Barry Sanders in 2014, and is the first former Giant to appear since Beckham’s iconic cover in 2016.

The honor itself is just the latest in a long series of awards that Barkley has received for his historic 2024 campaign. With each and every accolade that continues to pour in, the salt in the wound of the New York Giants’ front office only digs in deeper.

Funnily enough, in addition to the Madden cover title, Barkley and Beckham both apparently shared the desire to finish their careers in New York. In 2023, the league’s premier runner made his desire to stay with the team “for life” readily known.

Nevertheless, the G-Men infamously let Barkley walk away for free. At least, in the case of Beckham, they were able to collect some sort of long-term value, albeit in an equally underhanded manner.

In February of 2019, just six months after they negotiated a five-year, $90-million contract extension with Beckham, the Giants’ general manager, Dave Gettleman, boldly told the press that “We didn’t sign Odell to trade him. That’s all I need to say about that.”

They traded him to the Cleveland Browns 13 days later. While they did manage to collect a first-round pick in 2019, along with Jabrill Peppers and a third-round pick that same year, such misleading statements have become a routine tactic for New York.

It’s a behavior that isn’t appreciated by the players, who are often left blindsided by their decisions to kick them out of town. In a recent interview with CBS Sports, the former wide receiver opened up about his experience in those final days with the Giants.

According to Beckham, much like Barkley, he too wanted to be a Giant for life.

While it is unfortunate that neither star player had their wish granted, the Giants appear to be the true losers in the end. Barkley and Beckham are the two most recognizable names that the team has rostered throughout the past decade, and neither of them wanted to leave.

Despite this, however, the Giants still found a way to completely mismanage both of their careers after spending top-tier draft capital on them. Considering how successful both players proved to be, it’s rather concerning to think about what could have been had New York just been willing to spend their money in better places.