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Saquon Barkley accomplished a lot on his way to a record-setting contract extension. Reflecting will wait.

"You have your time to celebrate it, but you win and you move on," the Eagles running back said of his historic season. "Everything you did last year happened last year."

Eagles running back. Saquon Barkley takes questions from the media about his contract extension on Monday at the NovaCare Complex.
Eagles running back. Saquon Barkley takes questions from the media about his contract extension on Monday at the NovaCare Complex.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

Saquon Barkley has assured his friends and family members that he will find a day. When? He’s not sure. But a day will come when he takes some time to reflect on the year that was.

Barkley signed a three-year deal with the Eagles when NFL free agency opened last year. A year later, after piling up a list of accolades that never seems to end, Barkley sat at a podium at the NovaCare Complex on Monday after agreeing to a contract extension that made him the highest-paid running back in NFL history on an annual basis.

» READ MORE: 2025 Eagles free agency tracker: All the Birds’ signings, trades, and other roster moves

A lot happened in between. Barkley chased Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record. He became the ninth running back to hit the 2,000-yard mark. He became a first-team All-Pro selection and made his third Pro Bowl. He won the offensive player of the year award during Super Bowl week, and a few days later he danced around the locker room and celebrated a championship.

Then came the late-night circuit, the parade, appearances at random events, like a bar mitzvah, and a welcome-home celebration Sunday in Allentown, where thousands gathered to celebrate Barkley back in his home county. It’s hard, Barkley, said, to reflect on it all when you’re in the thick of it. For now, he’ll leave it for another time because he’s already focused on running it back next season.

Barkley did do one of the things he wanted to do. He spoke in October about the way the NFL treated running backs and said he hoped the seasons he and Derrick Henry were having would change the way teams thought about and paid running backs.

“I hope it does what it’s supposed to do,” Barkley said of his extension, which is reportedly valued at $41.2 million and includes $36 million fully guaranteed. “Every other position, the value increases each year.”

Barkley hopes young stars like Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson make even more money.

But Barkley’s value to the Eagles went beyond the on-field stuff. This is a place, he said Monday, where he could help cement his own legacy. He has long talked about his reverence for the great NFL backs and wants to be one of them.

“That’s the reason why I wanted to come here,” Barkley said. “It’s cool to sign the extension and having the yards, the record year, whatever happened last year, but you can’t do it without your teammates. This organization knows how to bring in great people and have great guys on this team and I’m just happy to be a part of it. Things I envision in the future, I feel like being here is the best place for it.”

» READ MORE: Sizing up the Eagles’ depth chart ahead of what could be a boring free agency period

How did the new deal come about, just one year into a three-year contract?

“I think it was just mutual, the love I have for this organization and wanting to be here for a really long time,” Barkley said. “The same thing they feel for me — obviously it shows.”

Barkley has already started his offseason workout program, though only mildly. He’s giving his body time to rest and will ramp it up in April. His mind, however, hasn’t wandered to the stage of reminiscing yet.

“You kind of lose focus on that already because you start thinking about how you’ll be able to do it again,” Barkley said. “That’s the nature of our business. That’s the nature of our sport. You have your time to celebrate it, but you win and you move on. Everything you did last year happened last year. You got to find new ways to create that again.”

What will those new ways look like? What might next season’s challenges be as opposing defenses try to stop him?

“You got to adapt and that’s something I’m willing to do,” Barkley said. “Whatever I can do to help the team win football games. Every year is different. It might not look the same how it looked this season, but if I’m able to still have an impact and still help us win football games, that’s the only thing that matters.”

Reflecting can wait. Maybe until it’s all over. Barkley said that day may come when he’s teaching his son, Saquon Jr., to play football.

“I can be like: ‘You know your dad was doing this at one point,’” Barkley said. “Right now it’s kind of not part of it.”