The Giants and quarterback Daniel Jones agreed to a four-year contract extension with a reported $82 million In guaranteed money, securing his role as the franchise’s starter after months of negotiations.
The two sides agreed to terms shortly before the deadline for the Giants to place the franchise tag on Jones.
In 2022, the last year of his rookie deal, Jones improved under the first-year head coach Brian Daboll and helped lead the Giants to a 9-7-1 record and the franchise’s first playoff win since the 2011 season.
Jones posted career bests in passing yards (3,205) and completion percentage (67.2), throwing just five interceptions in the regular season. The team’s season ended with a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round.
Jones’s emergence was among the highlights for a franchise that brought in new leadership. In January 2022, the Giants hired Joe Schoen as general manager and Daboll as coach from the Buffalo Bills. Schoen did not exercise the fifth-year option on Jones’ contract rookie setting up the 2022 season as a “prove-it” year the quarterback, who had been dogged by injuries and turnovers since the team drafted him with the No. 6 overall pick in 2019.
Jones compiled a 12-25 record in his first three seasons, playing under three offensive coordinators and two head coaches.
In Daboll’s scheme, Jones made the most of short throws and designed runs to gain yardage and cut down on his turnovers. The Giants’ offense also got a lift from running back Saquon Barkley, who was healthy for much of the season after having dealt with major injuries in each of the previous three. Barkley added 10 touchdowns and 1,312 rushing yards and the Giants ranked fourth in total rushing yards in 2022.
After the playoff loss, Jones and Schoen both said they wanted to complete a deal that would keep the quarterback with the team, but acknowledged there was distance between Jones’ asking price and what the team was willing to pay.
Jones switched his representation to Athletes First shortly after the Super Bowl, making the change from Creative Arts Agency in search of a more lucrative contract, according to a person with knowledge of the move. Last week at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, Schoen said He had not negotiated with CAA before Jones’s switch.
“That was something personal that Daniel wanted to do,” Schoen said in a news conference last Tuesday. “They had no idea what value we thought. I had no idea what they would ask. That was totally separate.”
After signing Jones, the Giants placed the franchise tag on Barkley, arguably the offense’s best player.