After years in the spotlight, the NFL star says faith—not football—has brought the real breakthrough. His words are worth a closer listen.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley shared that he recently became a Christian and how his faith has given him the best year of his career.

“I just became a Christian not too long ago,” Barkley told golf YouTuber Grant Horvat in a new video of them playing golf together.

He believes that his newfound faith has given him the best year of his career, including rushing for more than 2,000 yards, tying his personal best with 15 touchdowns, and winning SuperBowl LIX with his teammates, according to Relevant Magazine.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the best year I had in my career, I found my faith,” Barkley said. “It gives me some clarity in life.”

During Super Bowl media day in February, Barkley first hinted at his spiritual journey, such as crediting his agent Ed Berry—who’s also a pastor—for guiding him, according to Sports Spectrum.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you I know the Bible in and out,” he said. “It’s something I’m learning. I’m challenging myself to get better at it with my family and friends. I’m really lucky to have my agent—he’s a pastor—and I’m able to have Bible studies with him.”

“But I’m just growing,” he added. “And I think that’s the beautiful thing about it. I think that’s what faith is—having a relationship with God and understanding who Jesus is. And that’s what I’ve been trying to do this year.”

He also pointed out that several of his teammates are outspoken about their faith in God.

“I think the beauty of that would be that this team that we have — whether it’s me, Parris Campbell, A.J. [Brown], just having all those conversations — it’s kind of our biggest conversation starter, asking questions about religion and asking questions about faith,” Barkley told Sports Spectrum. “It just helps you grow and learn even more.”

Captain Brandon Graham also noted in February that there is a large number of Eagles players who are believers and have seen God work throughout the team in their “togetherness.”

“Sometimes, some teams, you might not see but three or four [in Bible study], and sometimes you see half the team, and it’s like, ‘Oh, OK.’ Everybody grows at different times but this year I felt like we got majority of believers on this team, and people are not scared to be open with their faith,” Graham said.

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