Sep 14, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs the ball during the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Saquon Barkley's Reaction To Tom Brady, Star-Studded Tournament

Originally posted on Philadelphia Eagles on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Sep 21, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The Philadelphia Eagles are just a few hours away from looking to win their third straight game to begin the 2025 National Football League season.

Philadelphia will face off against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in a Week 3 matchup after being the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs to begin the season. Now, they have another tough matchup coming up. But, there was some buzz earlier in the week about a different topic than just the Eagles and Rams Week 3 matchup.

It was shared that Eagles running back Saquon Barkley will be among the top NFL stars who will participate in the upcoming "Fanatics Flag Football Classic," according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

"Tom Brady is coming out of retirement, sort of, to join Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, CeeDee Lamb, Maxx Crosby, Rob Gronkowski, Sauce Gardner Myles Garrett and others for the Fanatics Flag Football Classic - a competitive flag football tournament taking place during Riyadh Season in Saudi Arabia on March 21, 2026," Schefter said. "It will be Brady's first football action since retiring three years ago. Pete Carroll, Sean Payton and Kyle Shanahan will be coaching the three teams."

What led to the decision?

Barkley talked about the upcoming tournament and what went into the decision to participate.

"Yeah, I really don’t know too much about it yet," Barkley said. "I do know I got a DM from Tom Brady saying, ‘Can I get a call?’ and I said, ‘Of course.’ Tom asked me about playing in a flag football game that’s in (March). First thing I said to Tom, I said ‘I’d love to, but I plan on playing really (late). So I can give you a better answer on how my body feels after the season.”

“But yeah, I think it’s a cool experience, cool event. But definitely got to figure out some things, make sure it’s okay with Howie Roseman, and (Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni), and (Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie) and all those. Because I definitely don’t want to jeopardize anything. But I’m all about — and I’ve been vocal about it — growing the game and growing the brand of the game. So if that does come into play, I’m super excited about that.”

Eagles fans will get to watch Barkley in 15 more regular season games along with a flag football tournament.

This article first appeared on Philadelphia Eagles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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