It may be basketball season in New York, but the Giants connected on a buzzer-beater of their own on Tuesday, agreeing to a four-year, $160 million contract with quarterback Daniel Jones right before the franchise tag deadline.
Given the reports of Jones' desires- and the actual numbers in the contract that were agreed upon- there were plenty of shocked reactions to the deal in the sports world.
But the Giants clearly feel that they've found their franchise quarterback- and seem intent to finally surround him with the right pieces, as well as a stable coaching staff that sticks around.
But how did the Giants really do with the Daniel Jones contract? That's what we'll discuss here.
Without further ado, it's time to grade the Giants' Daniel Jones contract.
Giants' Daniel Jones Contract Grades
Given the reports suggesting that Jones' camp was seeking at least $45 million per year- and potentially more- it feels like the Giants came away getting reasonable value for the dual-threat quarterback.
Jones' average annual value in the contract checks in at $40 million per year, which ranks him as tied for the seventh-highest paid quarterback in the league in terms of top-line value, per Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports.
As Vacchiano notes, Jones' salary cap number in year one will be around $19 million.
That's certainly going to help the Giants field a better team around him, though Jones' contract, plus the franchise tag on Saquon Barkley, will leave the team with around $18 million in cap space.
However, Giants general manager Joe Schoen has proven to be a wizard at finagling around the cap- and he has already cut embattled wide receiver Kenny Golladay, a move sure to bring in some savings.
Financially, the Jones contract has the potential to age reasonably well.
And that seems to be the idea here.
Yes, Jones took a step forward in his first season under quarterback-friendly head coach Brian Daboll.
But the Duke product has done nothing in his career to suggest he deserves to be one of the ten highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL.
The Giants do deserve to get dinged a bit for this leap of faith, but one has to believe that the team has big plans to continue building around him this offseason.
Schoen said as much after signing the contract, making it clear that the deal gives them a “greater ability to continue to build the roster.”
Jones, who completed a career-high 67.2 percent of his passes for 15 scores while running for an additional 708 yards with seven scores, took a pretty big leap under Daboll despite some injuries and inconsistent play around him.
That suggests there could be room for even more improvement down the road.
Is there some risk for the Giants in taking this plunge? You bet.
But in a league where so much centers around whether you have a quarterback or you don't, the Giants believe they have theirs.
They extended him while leaving room to continue building a strong roster around him.
For that, the Giants get passing marks for their Daniel Jones contract.
Grade: B-
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