It turns out even championships have their downsides. That’s according to freshly-crowned Super Bowl winner Saquon Barkley.
In his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles following last year’s blockbuster free-agency signing, the running back tasted victory for the first time. And apparently it ‘sucks’ – or part of it at least.
Barkley played a pivotal role when he took to the NFL’s greatest stage for the first time Sunday, helping the Eagles to a 40-22 Super Bowl LIX demolition of the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans.
The 28-year-old rounded off the greatest debut season of any free agent in Philadelphia history with 2,504 total rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns, amᴀssing the most rushing yards in NFL history.
But Barkley, who was also named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year last week, admitted his hunger for glory hasn’t been satiated. If anything, he’s only become more ravenous.
‘Two nights ago, I had a hard time sleeping because I was thinking about how I’m going to attack the offseason,’ Barkley confessed as he spoke to reporters while greeting and serving fans at a local Raising Cane’s Thursday.
Saquon Barkley admitted there was part of winning the Super Bowl that ‘sucks’
The Eagles star told reporters that he couldn’t allow himself to get caught up in the win
‘You become, greedy is not the word, but addicted to it. You want to find a way to hold that Lombardi Trophy up again.
‘It kind of sucks when you think about it, because you can’t allow yourself to get too caught up in it. I guess you can appreciate the things that you’re achieving but that’s how it is, you’ve got to move on and do it all over again. That’s the dream.’
As Barkley and teammates AJ Brown and Jalen Hurts already turn their attention to securing their next championship rings before even receiving this year’s, it begs the question: Are they daring to dream of a dynasty?
‘I said after the game, “Why can’t our dynasty start now?” I probably had a little bit of champagne and other stuff in my system at the time,’ Barkley said with a wry chuckle.
‘But you really can’t focus on that. It’s hard to win one. Then, you take it in, you enjoy the moment, and you start over.
‘It starts over after Friday’s parade. We truly celebrate being a Super Bowl champion, and then it’s back to work. That’s the beauty of the team that we have. A lot of guys have similar mindsets.
The running back joked that he had been full of champagne during the Eagles’ celebrations
Barkley greeted and served fans at Raising Cane’s alongside owner Todd Graves Thursday
Barkley played a pivotal role in Philadelphia’s demolition of the Kansas City Chiefs
The Eagles sent the Kansas City Chiefs’ ‘three-peat’ hopes crumbling in Super Bowl LIX
‘You can’t really get caught up in the dynasty. The way you achieve that is by putting the work in. There’s a reason why we won, it wasn’t an accident. So, we’ve got to try to do that all over again.’
In New Orleans, Barkley, Hurts and co. sent the Chiefs’ own dynasty claims crumbling as they crushed their hopes for a historic ‘three-peat.’
Andy Reid’s team had been a well-oiled, unstoppable machine reaching five of the last six Super Bowls, winning three of them.
But Philadelphia not only stopped the steamrolling reign of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and co. in its tracks, it took a torch to it – in typical Philly style. And now, maybe it could be Barkley and the Eagles who rise from the flames.
