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Saquon Barkley knows that he is “quote unquote, one of the faces” of the National Football League. It is not an easy title to hold, but being a No. 2 overall pick turned 2,000-yard rusher, Offensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl winner will do that to you.
Barkley’s very first game as a Philadelphia Eagle was played in Brazil, and this year, the team will travel to London in Week 5 to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.
But as the NFL continues to grow its audience and lap the field, Barkley is “all about eyes.”
“It’s so important that we are traveling across the country to play the game. The more eyes you can get on it, the better it’s going to be,” Barkley told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
“The more people are going to want to grow up and play football, want to be involved. It’s really kind of crazy that football is probably the biggest sport, and we really haven’t even scratched the surface yet, to be completely honest. There’s so many more territories that we just take over, and I think the NFL is doing a really good job of that.
“I’m a fan of getting as many eyeballs as we can in the game, help growing the game. Anytime I can get an opportunity to play in front of someone that’s never got to watch the game, I want to try to make it memorable and have an impact on them … So right now, I’m all about eyes, eyes, eyes on the game, and let’s grow this game as big as we can, and let’s have an impact on as many people as we can.”
That’s why Barkley has joined forces with DIRECTV ahead of his ninth NFL season. As part of the campaign, Barkley recorded a spot that turned his iconic hurdle into a humorous metaphor for the obstacles football fans now jump through just to find a game. It shows why Barkley wants diehard fans to keep watching games, dare we say, the old-fashioned way.
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“It’s going to be crazy in 10 to 15 years, the way you’re going to be able to watch football games,” Barkley said of today’s streaming-service takeover.
“It’s kind of like what I grew up on, and now to be able to have the opportunity to work with them, and to be able to not only bring it in the NFL level, but also in the collegiate level where the game continues to grow and how much eyes are continuing to get on this football game, I think it’s the only way. I think it’s the right way to do it, and for me to be able to have the opportunity to work with DIRECTV, someone I’ve been a fan of for a very long time and be able to shoot a spot with them, it was awesome.”
Barkley has accomplished just about everything a football player could dream of. He can retire right now and continue the golf grind (he claims Philly’s top five courses trump New Jersey’s top five, although Barkley and this writer obliged that Pine Valley is a Philadelphia course). But as to why he’s still grinding, his answer is simple.
“I love it,” he said.
“It’s something I’m very passionate about. My son SJ, he’s already passionate about football. I was around the same age, two or three, where I said this is something that I want to do, and I’m living my dream. I’m living the dream that I always wanted to live. So, I’m having fun with it, and as long as God keeps me healthy and they keep giving me contracts and opportunities, as long as they want to keep me in this league, I’ll try to play as long as I can….
“Whether it’s a year, whether it’s five years, there’s going to be a time where I’m like, ‘Damn, I wish I could go back into that locker room and just spend one more day with the boys, spend one more day in that weight room, spend one more day running out that tunnel.’ It’s going to be a mess. So, I try to enjoy it right now.”
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