Before Saquon Barkley left the Giants for the Eagles in free agency, Giants owner John Mara made it known he wasn’t going to be happy to see that happen.
Mara told Giants General Manager Joe Schoen that Giants fans love Barkley and that it would be tough for Mara to see Barkley in an Eagles uniform.
“I’ll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that,” Mara said, as shown on Hard Knocks. “As I’ve told you, I’ve been around enough players, but he’s the most popular player we have, by far.”
Mara’s comments point to the realities of how different people within an organization view personnel moves: Schoen is concerned only with putting the best team he can on the field, and Schoen made clear at the start of free agency that he didn’t think the salary cap space Barkley would take up was the best use of the Giants’ resources.
But as the owner, Mara is also concerned about ticket sales, merchandise and sponsorships, and that means he cares about a player’s popularity with the fans. And when Barkley left, the Giants lost a player who sells a lot of jerseys.