Saquon Barkley skipped an award ceremony for the most adorable reason: to attend a father-daughter dance
The dance was originally scheduled on Super Bowl Sunday before getting moved to this weekend. The Eagles running back wasn’t missing it.
Nothing could stop Saquon Barkley from attending his father-daughter dance with his daughter Jada — not even the 88th annual Maxwell Football Club Awards.
The award ceremony took place at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on Friday, the same day as his rescheduled father-daughter dance. The dance was originally scheduled for Super Bowl Sunday — something Jada wasn’t too excited about.
“We had a daddy-daughter dance the same day as the Super Bowl, but it got canceled,” Barkley said. “So, she told me last night on FaceTime when it got canceled that she definitely wants me to win the Super Bowl more now.”
And Jada got her wish. The Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in a one-sided 40-22 victory, securing Barkley’s first Lombardi Trophy. And the running back’s calendar was suddenly free for him to attend his 6-year-old’s daddy-daughter dance. Or so he thought.
Being a Super Bowl champion and 2,000-yard rusher can cause a whole new set of scheduling conflicts — this time an award ceremony. But the Eagles running back had his priorities straight. Instead of attending the ceremony, Barkley was presented the Bert Bell Award for player of the year in-person through a prerecorded video filmed in Malvern the week prior so he could still attend the dance with his daughter.
At this point it seems like Barkley can do it all. After being presented the Bert Bell Award, which the Maxwell Club gives to the professional football player of the year, he took the time to thank the Eagles organization.
“I want to say thank you to everyone that came to support,” Barkley said. “But also, I wouldn’t be able to win this award without the help of my teammates, especially the boys in the front, my O-line, and everyone from the Eagles organization that gave me this opportunity. And the help and the love and support from my family and friends.
“I wasn’t able to get one of these in college — I just found out I was the runner-up — but either way, this is an honor and privilege and there are so many great names that are attached to this award. I’m happy to be a part of that.”
Barkley joins fellow Eagles Jalen Hurts, Carson Wentz, Michael Vick, Randall Cunningham, Ron Jaworski, Pete Retzlaff, and Norm Van Brocklin as the franchise’s only players to win the award, which has been handed out for over 65 years.