On March 13 this year, Saquon Barkley joined the Philadelphia Eagles, after exiting the New York Giants. He signed a three-year, $37.75 million contract that was said to be worth up to $46.75 million, with $26 million fully guaranteed money. Obviously, the league’s collective reluctance to pay running backs played dividends in getting Barkley to sign with his former team’s NFC East rival. Still, just five months later, could it be that a deal that raised him as the fourth-highest-paid running back in the NFL isn’t enough to make Barkley stay?

In a new Instagram story, Saquon Barkley teased fans by writing, “Before Anyone Else Reports It I Want You To Hear It From Me First. I’m About To Join A New Franchise… Again. Big Announcement Tomorrow.” After a controversial exit from the Giants laid bare thanks to a phone call, Barkley’s announcement—if true—comes at an inappropriate time. But there’s a catch. Remember this as it will be important in just a minute!

Well, for starters, the Eagles absolutely need him. In Week 14 last year, the team broke an unwanted 40-year record. They suffered two consecutive losses against the San Francisco 49ers (42-19) and the Dallas Cowboys (33-13) by 20 or more points. The last time this happened was in 1983 by the Dallas Cowboys. Then, to add insult to injury, their third straight loss came against the Seattle Seahawks(20-17), where they failed to reach 20 points again.

Many alleged their roster wasn’t good enough. As compared to their 2022, the 2023 squad seemed battered, with 17 players missing at least 78 games. Nine key players, including Lane Johnson, Jalen Hurts, Jordan Mailata, and Josh Sweat, missed a total of 31 games. Curiously, Hurts seemed more injured than he let on. Despite a dislocated finger on his throwing hand and knee pain, the QBs name appeared on an injury report just once. That too, for an eye test. 

What’s more: In a landmark move, the Eagles acquired Barkley in the highest-ever running back deal in Eagles history. Notably, the 27-year-old is one of five players with  2,000+ receiving yards (2,100) and 5,000+ rushing yards (5,211) since 2018, joining Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffrey, Ezekiel Elliott, and Aaron Jones. He’s supposed to make Hurts’ life easier.  

As for Barkley’s announcement, fans think they’ve cracked the code. I mean who changes teams so soon, especially after stating, “I’m excited to be here with this team. I feel like we can do something special. That’s a ways, ways away, so just continue to come in one day at a time and try to get better,” after a new signing. One social media user pointed out, “Clearly a branding kind of thing. Nothing burger.” While another fan chimed in with similar thoughts, “Gotta be a branding deal…” Truth be told, that seems to be the likeliest explanation as of now. So, what is to be expected of the IG story’s “big announcement tomorrow?“

Nevertheless, it is clear now that Barkley is referring to a brand named “applebees,” a grill plus bar restaurant chain. Sharing an advertisement of the same which featured Barkley, Brock Purdy, and Dan Campbell, the brand tagged him writing, “Drama. Football. Boneless Wings. Take a behind the scenes seat every week and watch as we go from your favorite franchise to a dining dynasty” in the caption.

Meanwhile, let’s not forget that earlier this year, Barkley coming off of a list of high-profile endorsements. 

Saquon Barkley strengthened his brand off the field!

In January, before signing with the Eagles, ex-Giants RB, Saquon Barkley, made a brand partnership with “Silk, a producer of plant-based products.” Sharing an advertisement video on his Instagram account, Barkley wrote, “My favorite way to start my morning is with my Tofu Touchdown smoothie. Thanks to @silk Original Almondmilk, this powerhouse smoothie not only tastes delicious, but includes the nutrition – calcium, and Vitamin D and E – that I need to dominate on and off the field.” Not only that!

With this partnership, he also joined “the Feel Planty Good Challenge, a campaign to incorporate Silk in breakfast every day for a week.” Besides it, Saquon Barkley has done a wide range of deals in his career, “including with blue chips like Dunkin’ Donuts, Nike, Pepsi, Toyota and Visa.” And with all these, he makes earnings over 10 million dollars.

So, it’s now worth seeing how Barkley moves with this new brand “applebees,” and yes, the fans’ guesses were correct!