Saquon Barkley goes sneaker shopping with Complex and talks Allen Iverson, Eagles shoe culture, and more

Right before he was drafted second overall by the New York Giants in 2018, Saquon Barkley made his first appearance on Complex’s Sneaker Shopping with Joe La Puma. More than seven years later, he returned to New York to star in the most recent episode.

“Time is flying by,” Barkley said. “But I think that was one of my first times doing an interview and being [exposed] to the world. Someone over there told me they watched me get drafted. They were 13; now they’re 20. So it’s kind of making me feel a little old, but it’s been a [expletive] of a ride for sure.”

As Barkley was shopping — he walked away with $3,221.42 worth of shoes — La Puma asked the three-time Pro Bowler about sneaker culture in the NFL, his Travis Scott collaboration, and paying homage to LeBron James. Here’s everything you missed:

When discussing what started the cleat wave in the NFL, Odell Beckham Jr. usually comes to mind. The wide receiver was known for wearing extravagant custom cleats, including the $200,000 diamond-encrusted ones he wore for Super Bowl LVI warmups.

Although Cam Newton and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson wore custom cleats before him, Beckham is credited with making the trend more popular. And if you ask him, he’ll even say he “invented the cleat game.” Barkley seems to agree — he compared Beckham to a certain Philly sports legend.

“It’s not even a question,” Barkley said. “He doesn’t get enough credit. I like to say he’s like the Allen Iverson of football, just where culture is in football and where it’s continuing to grow, Odell is definitely the face of that and the start of that. That’s how it starts. You got to have someone who is that icon, someone who breaks it out. And now you see all these crazy collabs, all these crazy cleats out there, and he was definitely the driving force for that.”

» READ MORE: Allen Iverson is a closer, why Reebok almost passed on him, and more takeaways from Netflix’s new ‘Power Moves’ docuseries

Iverson revolutionized the way players dressed and carried themselves, and inspired a generation to want to be like him. Barkley believes his former teammate did the same thing for players in the NFL.

“He has a way when it comes to creating moments and when it comes to having an impact on the culture,” Barkley said. “So it’s been cool to have him as a teammate and have him as a brother of mine and be able to bounce ideas and thoughts off of him.”

Sneaker culture in the Eagles locker room seems to be strong, with players like A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jalen Hurts, and Barkley bringing new heat to the field each week. When La Puma asked Barkley if there has ever been any friendly competition with their footwear, the running back responded, “I wouldn’t say we’re checking [each other].”

“That’s the beauty of the NFL, man,” he said. “Every week, you have guys coming up with new ideas, coming up with fire, and you know you want to make sure you’re the guy that has the most fire, and Nike has been doing a great job for me.”

As a Nike athlete, Barkley said he has access to an online storefront and can pick out free shoes for himself and his family. He also joked that he might need to scale back how often he uses that.

» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts arrives at Eagles training camp in style, unveils new Jordan Trunner OS shoes

One way Barkley has been staying on top of his sneaker game is by paying homage to LeBron James. The LeBron 4 is a popular cleat for the running back, and it graces the cover of Madden NFL 26. Barkley also has worn iterations of the Air Zoom Generations cleats.

“It’s been amazing to have LeBron’s support,” Barkley said. “I feel like some of my biggest moments have happened in LeBron’s shoes — the backward hurdle, reverse hurdle, I don’t know what it’s called, winning the Super Bowl, and I got a lot of great ideas coming up this year with Nike.”

Barkley wore a triple-black LeBron 4 cleat with a dark green Nike swoosh during the Eagles’ NFC championship game win over the Washington Commanders. The running back said that colorway led to a funny interaction with Nike.

“I actually was going through a contract situation with Nike, not trying to put too much details out there,” Barkley said. “I got those shoes [Nike LeBron 4] in [triple-black], and it was kind of hard to see the Nike sign. They thought I blacked out the Nike shoe for the NFC championship game.

“In reality, I just wanted this colorway, which now I’m going to have another colorway for that coming out for this year. But, they thought I was trying to send a message. And I scored on the first play of the game. So when you do that and you have LeBron James backing you up, Nike started to take a little chill pill.”

In his first interview with Complex in 2018, Barkley discussed wanting his own sneaker. Three years later, the running back released the Saquon Barkley Nike Air Trainer 3.

“To have your own shoe, it’s crazy. I look back on these last seven, eight years, I’ve been super blessed,” Barkley said. “Travis [Scott] had a big part in it too. … To have him and his team be a part of that and kind of sign off on a shoe for us made it even more special.”

The Nike Air Trainer 3 gained popularity in the ’90s with two-sport star Bo Jackson. Barkley reimagined the look and added details across the body of the shoe that pay homage to New York, including reflective detailing to look like construction zones. Barkley revealed that the signature eye black on the Nike swoosh was the rapper Scott’s idea.

So, what did Barkley end up walking out with? He copped the Trophy Room X Air Jordan 1 “Chicago Friends & Family” ($709), CPFM X Air Force 1 Low Premium “Fuchsia Dream” ($1,025), Travis Scott X Air Jordan 1 Low PS “Canary” ($615), Powerpuff Girls X Nike Dunk Low TD “Bubbles” ($266), Travis Scott X Air Jordan 1 Low TD “Reverse Mocha” ($211), and the Air Jordan 4 PS “Bred Reimagined” ($153) — for a total of $3,221.42 after tax, just under $75 more than his first visit.