Barkley Backs Satellite TV While Urging NFL’s Global Expansion

Barkley Backs Satellite TV While Urging NFL's Global Expansion

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley has partnered with DIRECTV ahead of the 2025 NFL season, using his profile as one of the league’s marquee players to advocate for wider access to football broadcasts and the sport’s continued international growth.

Barkley, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards in his debut Eagles season, won Offensive Player of the Year honors, and earned a Super Bowl ring, recorded a commercial for the satellite provider that uses his signature hurdle move as a metaphor for the fragmented streaming landscape fans must navigate. His comments come as Congress has also turned attention to broadcast access: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has said lawmakers are scrutinizing NFL streaming costs under the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act, with some estimates placing the total subscriber cost of following a team across multiple platforms at close to $1,000 per season.

Barkley framed his commercial partnership in terms of audience growth rather than brand loyalty. “The more eyes you can get on it, the better it’s going to be,” he said, adding that football has yet to reach many potential markets globally. His first game as an Eagle was played in São Paulo, Brazil, and the Eagles are scheduled to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in London in Week 5 of the 2025 season – part of the NFL’s long-running international series that has used Wembley Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as regular venues.

Barkley, entering his ninth NFL season, said his motivation to keep playing is straightforward: he described watching his young son develop an interest in the sport and called his career the fulfillment of an ambition he formed around the age of two or three. He offered no timeline for retirement beyond saying he intends to play as long as his health and league opportunities allow.