When Saquon Barkley Shared How Daughter Jada’s “I Love You, Dad” Drawing Gets Him Through a “Bad Day”

Today, it feels like Saquon Barkley can make no mistakes. But before joining the Eagles, his time in New York was anything but easy. Wins were rare, and even the crowd’s cheers couldn’t lift his spirits — he was stuck in a bad situation. Fortunately, the star running back had a secret weapon in the locker room that had nothing to do with football but never failed to brighten his day — a heartfelt drawing from his daughter, Jada.

Saquon Barkley recently appeared on the Philadelphia Eagles’ YouTube channel where he revealed his locker room essentials. At the top of the list was a cute drawing from his firstborn Jada. The drawing is Jada’s ode to her family and includes portraits of all the members—daddy Saquon (with a big smiling heart), mom Anna, younger brother Saquon Jr., and their deceased pet dog, Bow—all scribbled in pen.

As brilliant as Barkley is, even he isn’t immune to tough days—whether it’s a bad practice, a fumble, or a missed play. It is at these low moments that Jada’s innocent artwork delivers an impact stronger than any pep talk, reminding Barkley that family is everything and that, in the grand scheme of things, there is more to life than football.

“It’s amazing to be a dad and have your kids be able to come and watch you play but little stuff like, especially if you’re having a great day, a bad day, or practice and you come back into your locker and you see this note… then you know there’s just more to football.”

Another special item in Saquon’s locker is the Eagles jersey he wore for his debut in Brazil against the Packers—an international game the Eagles ended up winning. His locker also holds a few old, worn-out, stain-filled jerseys from rivals, which he exchanged with them after games—a common tradition. This made the video producer wonder if the RB had ever washed them.

Hilariously enough, Barkley replied with a “No” revealing that he simply sprayed some cologne over it as damage control. It seems he wanted to preserve the hits and moments the jerseys had come with. Barkley did, however, admit that his locker “smells” a little bit.

“No, you usually don’t wash these jerseys [to maintain authenticity]. So in my locker, I got a couple of jerseys. My locker smells a little bit, so I try to spray it to make sure it don’t smell too bad…”

With these two items at the top of Barkley’s essential list, it’s clear how much value relationships hold in the former Giants RB’s life.

Will Saquon Barkley’s family be present at the Super Bowl?

One look at Saquon Barkley and Anna Congdon’s Instagram profiles reveals that the Barkley clan keeps a low profile, unlike other NFL stars and their families. In fact, the Eagles’ NFC Championship victory was one of the rare occasions we saw the Barkley family together on the field. So, will we see them at the Super Bowl? Ideally, yes.

The Super Bowl is the pinnacle event in any NFL athlete’s career. It’s one thing not to have your family at your workplace on an ordinary day, but it’s another to not have them at your company’s biggest annual event. Considering Anna and the kids were there at the NFC Championship, having Barkley’s back, we expect the same at the Super Bowl.

It’s Barkley’s first appearance too—they have to be there, preserving the moment. It’s the support the RB would need.