The New York Giants solidified Daniel Jones as their franchise quarterback this offseason, signing him to a four-year, $160 million contract extension. After he led his team to their first playoff victory in over a decade, the Giants felt comfortable investing their future in Jones. However, this decision received mixed reviews from fans, analysts, and, evidently, NFL executives alike.
Anonymous NFL executive rips Giants for extending Daniel Jones
The New York Giants recently caught criticism from an anonymous NFL executive, saying their decision to extend Daniel Jones was “wild.”
“They would have been better off doing a bad deal with (running back) Saquon Barkley and (franchise) tagging Jones rather than the other way around,” and NFL executive told The Atheltic’s Mike Sando. “Who was going to step out and pay Daniel Jones? That one was wild.”
On the surface, Jones’ $40 million per year salary may come off as a steep price. However, taking a second look at the details of the contract, the Giants gave themselves a lot of flexibility to move on from Jones if he fails to meet expectations.
According to Spotrac, there is an out in Jones’ contract in 2025. That offseason, Big Blue could release Jones for $21.5 million in cap savings with $18 million in dead cap. Releasing Jones in 2025 would also leave the Giants with just $9 million in dead cap in 2026.
New York guaranteed Jones only $81 million at signing. The low amount of guaranteed money makes it rather easy for the Giants to get out of the contract if they need to go in a different direction.
“That is surprising that they didn’t try to squeeze (Jones) a little bit, but the new regime just got there and won with him,” another exec said to Sando. “They probably want to continue to instill confidence in him. They overpaid Eli (Manning) in the past. That could just be a position they don’t want to mess around with and get too cute with.”
Jones will be 26 years old when the 2023 season begins. The Giants’ quarterback is young and still has room to grow. As Eli Manning recently noted on The Pat McAfee Show, “[Daniel Jones] hasn’t been in the same offense for multiple years. And now, [being] in the same offense, [having] other guys in the same offense around him getting things going, I think he’ll just continue to get stronger and better.”
The Giants are indeed paying Daniel Jones a high wage, despite the fact that he has just one postseason appearance to his name. However, if Jones can take that next step under HC Brian Daboll’s tutelage, he could elevate his game and make the Giants’ $40 million per year contract look like a bargain.