Mara Turns To New York Giants Trio To Energize Barkley Talks

New York Giants owners John Mara and Steve Tisch have continued to show the desire to keep franchise players happy and in Big Blue uniforms for their entire careers. It is apparent that Saquon Barkley is one of those players.

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On Monday, following the NFL's annual meetings, Mara spoke with reporters about his desire to keep Barkley in the Giants backfield for the future. The Giants put the non-exclusive "franchise tag" on the star running back on March 7th. Barkley is set to earn $10.091 million in 2023. The Giants owner made it clear that the team hopes to negotiate a longer term deal to keep #26 around, like another popular New York running back.

The Giants owner told friend of The Drive with Charlie & Dan, Tom Rock of newsday.com, “We had a very good conversation. I told him how much I wanted him here, wanted him to be a Giant. My dream is that he play his whole career as a Giant like Eli did, like Strahan did, like Tiki did. And I mentioned to him: Look what they're doing off the field now. I think he would like that as well.” Like Strahan and possibly Eli soon, Saquon would certainly like a shot to earn the "Gold Jacket" that comes with a Hall of Fame induction.

Mara is smart to reference the trio of Big Blue stars. Few professional athletes reach the post-career stardom that Michael Strahan has. It is fair to wonder if Strahan's popularity would have accelerated so quickly had the Hall of Famer played in another city? How about Tiki Barber? If he didn't play for the Giants would he be hosting ESPN's morning drive radio in New York City? Then there is Eli Manning. If Eli won two Super Bowls in Tennessee, would he and his brother have their own version of Monday night football? All, are fair questions that Saquon Barkley should be asking himself. It's not always about the money today...