Eagles' Saquon Barkley Could Retire from NFL 'Out of Nowhere' Like Barry Sanders

Saquon Barkley says his future exit from the NFL could be as shocking as Barry Sanders announcing his retirement the day before Detroit Lions training camp in 1999.

"I'll probably be one of those guys that, it would be out of nowhere. I'll probably just wake up one day, whether it's next year or two years or four years, and just be like, 'Yeah, it's over,'" Barkley said about his future retirement on the latest episode of the Green Light with Chris Long podcast.

Barkley continued, "Probably my favorite player of all time is Barry Sanders. So, probably similar to that. Maybe one day, it'll be out of nowhere. I'll probably be balling, and just be like, 'Yeah, call it quits.'"

Eagles fans may be surprised to hear Barkley, who turned 28 in February, discussing a possible retirement in the somewhat near future.

Barkley followed up his historic regular season and Super Bowl LIX win by signing a two-year extension that brought his contract with the Eagles through 2028.

The new contract included up to $1.5 million per year in incentives, but also $36 million guaranteed at signing, per Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.

Barkley earned that new deal after setting an NFL record for the most rushing yards in a single season, including playoffs, with 2,504 yards on the way to the championship.

Sanders recorded a 2,000-rushing-yard season of his own during his Offensive Player of the Year and NFL MVP campaign for the Lions in 1997. He ultimately played just one more season before his abrupt retirement at age 31.