It’s going to cost the New York Giants a pretty penny to keep Daniel Jones, even if they don’t re-sign the quarterback to a long-term contract and are forced to use the franchise tag.
Now that the NFL has set the salary cap at $224.8 million for the 2023 season, the price to use the non-exclusive franchise tag on a quarterback is a guaranteed salary of $32.416 million. If the Giants and Daniel Jones can’t agree on a new deal, New York will have to tag Jones or risk him signing elsewhere in free agency.
The franchise tag for quarterbacks was $29.7 million for the 2022 season. Only 11 quarterbacks are signed to contracts that include an average yearly salary north of $32 million. Between his career year and the new salary cap, Jones is primed to make more money than at least half of the league’s starting quarterbacks.
One year ago, it would’ve seemed highly unlikely that Giants might even consider paying Jones upwards of $32 million per season. New York declined to exercise Jones’ fifth-year option, giving him the chance to hit free agency this March.
Jones responded by completing 67.2% of his passes for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns and a 92.5 passer rating. The once turnover-prone quarterback posted a league-low 1.1% interception rate. Jones also added 708 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
Under new Giants head coach Brian Daboll, Jones led one of the best turnarounds in football. The Giants went from a four-win team in 2022 to a nine-win team and the NFC’s No. 6 seed in 2023.
If there was any doubt that the Giants might want to keep Jones, the former first-round draft pick had a historic playoff debut. Jones threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns with 78 rushing yards in a wild-card round win over the Minnesota Vikings.
With Jones and Saquon Barkley both unsigned, the Giants can only use the franchise tag on one of the two players.
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