Saquon Barkley’s historic 2024 season put him the same category with some of the NFL’s all-time great running backs. For an entirely different reason, Barkley is apparently considering following in the footsteps of several legendary backs once again.
Barkley recently opened up about possibly retiring early, saying that he could decide to hang up his cleats as soon as next offseason. If he decided to do so, Barkley would be following in the footsteps of Jim Brown and Barry Sanders, two of the NFL’s greatest running backs who elected to walk away from the game at ages 29 and 30, respectively.
Despite retiring early, Brown and Sanders were shoo-ins for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as soon as they were eligible. Barkley would likely need at least one if not two more All-Pro seasons before he would receive the same treatment.
At it currently stands, Barkley’s career is already likely good enough to warrant Hall of Fame consideration. It wouldn’t, however, likely be good enough for actual induction.
Through seven seasons, Barkley has amassed three Pro Bowls and one All-Pro. Not bad, but given how much voters value those accolades, it’s probably too low. Of the 25 running backs currently in the Hall of Fame, only Terrell Davis (we’ll discuss him more a little bit) is the only one with less than four career Pro Bowl nods. Only three other Hall of Fame running backs have less than five Pro Bowl selections.
Saquon Barkley hints that he could retire as soon as next year: Eagles star wants to go out like Barry Sanders
John Breech
Barkley’s biggest Hall of Fame deterrent is his career rushing total. His 7,216 yards are currently 65th on the all-time list. Ironically, Barkley is just behind Leroy Kelly, who is in the Hall of Fame. There are nine running backs in the Hall of Fame with less rushing yards than Barkley, but each one began their career prior to the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
Barkley’s greatest Hall of Fame argument is his 2024 season, one of the greatest single seasons an individual has had in the NFL’s 106-year history. In addition to becoming the ninth player to rush for over 2,000 yards — he had 2,005 yards in 16 games and would have possibly broken Eric Dickerson’s single-season record had Philadelphia not rested some of its starters for its regular-season finale against the Giants — Barkley broke Davis’ record for the most total rushing yards in a season. Including the postseason, Barkley rushed for a record 2,504 yards, breaking Davis’ 26-year-old record by 28 yards. Barkley also joined Davis and fellow Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith as the only rushing champions to win the Super Bowl.
As sensational as Barkley’s season was, he was an accolade short of putting together a season that would have possible have made his current Hall of Fame candidacy a slam dunk. Breaking Dickerson’s regular-season record and/or winning league MVP would have done wonders for Barkley’s future Hall of Fame argument. Super Bowl MVP would have also been significant, but not quite as much.
When looking at Barkley’s career, Davis is the best comparison in terms of running backs who are in the Hall of Fame. In seven seasons, Davis rushed for 7,607 yards and 60 touchdowns (compared to Barkley’s 48). He also had a season that included over 2,000 yards rushing and a Super Bowl win.
Davis, however, was named league MVP during his 2,000-yard season, an honor that bookended a calendar year that also saw him win Super Bowl MVP honors after leading the Broncos to their first title. Those two individual honors undoubtedly helped convince voters to induct Davis despite his career ending early due to injuries.
Voters have historically given a pass to running backs whose careers were cut short if their resumes were still good enough for induction. Perfect examples of this are Davis and Chicago Bears great Gale Sayers. The same logic doesn’t apply, however, for players who simply decide to retire early. An example of this is former Giants running back Tiki Barber, who was 31 when he walked away despite being at the top of his game. Voters could give Barkley a similar treatment if he walks away from the game early without emphatically making his case for induction.
There are several routes to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. One is by having a long career that includes impressive stats and some individual honors. Another is by having a number of great individual and career-defining moments and enough stats to complement those moments. At this point, Barkley would obviously fall into the latter category.
If the Hall’s voters were going to vote on his candidacy today, Barkley most likely wouldn’t receive enough votes. While impressive, Barkley doesn’t have enough stats or accolades to receive a gold jacket, a bronze bust and a permanent place among the NFL’s greatest running backs. That could change, however, if Barkley has 1-2 more seasons similar to the one that he put together in 2024.
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Author: Bryan DeArdo
June 5, 2025 | 1:05 pm
