Saquon Barkley's $41.2 million Eagles contract extension incredibly well-deserved

The Philadelphia Eagles gave Saquon Barkley a massive contract extension on Tuesday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Fresh off their impressive Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Eagles rewarded the 28-year-old Barkley with a two-year, $41.2 million contract, with $35 million of that money fully guaranteed. It makes Barkley the first running back in NFL history to make more than $20 million a year, and includes incentives that could add another $15 million to the total.

While the contract is incredibly pricey, it's hard to argue that Barkley doesn't deserve it. He's coming off the best statistical season he's ever had, and one of the greatest seasons any NFL running back has produced. In 16 games, he put up 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns, with another 278 receiving yards and 2 touchdown receptions. When combined with his 499 postseason rushing yards, he eclipsed the single-season mark set by Terrell Davis in 1998.

He was the heart and soul of Philly's offense this year, a dominant force of nature routinely making absurd plays no one thought possible. He was held under 100 rushing yards just five times in the regular season, and only once in the playoffs, and was the driving force behind the Eagles' run to a title.

The Eagles' treatment of Barkley in just over a season stands in stark contrast to the way he was treated in New York, where the Giants hemmed and hawed about paying him what he was worth before letting him walk to the Eagles last offseason. Since then, he's done nothing but pay Philly's faith in him back and then some.

Does the deal come with risks? Sure; any time you're paying a running back a substantial sum of money, it's going to be a risky proposition. In the modern NFL, running backs tend to age like milk in the sun, and while Barkley has shown no signs of slowing down, there is very much a possibility that he's going to regress sooner than later.

Even so, it's hard to argue that there's a back more deserving of such a lucrative contract in the NFL, and even harder to argue that Barkley is incapable of living up to it. Given what he achieved last season, they sky is the limit for him with the Eagles.

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