According to a report, the New York Giants and quarterback Daniel Jones are said to be closing in on a new multi-year contract extension that would keep Jones from hitting the open market in March.
Boomer Esiason made the claim on WFAN's "Boomer and Gio" morning show, adding, "The question is, is it three years or four years--what does the player want, what does the team want? Can they meet somewhere in the middle?"
Giants general manager Joe Schoen told reporters back during the bye week that any contract discussions that weren't resolved by the bye's end would be tabled until after the season ended to not create any distractions for the team or the player.
With the Giants about to embark on their first playoff run in six years, the potential talk of a contract extension for one of the team's marquee players could be a distraction if such talks were to linger.
It will not be surprising if the Giants have had discussions with Jones's reps to lay down some parameters. As for the timing, because the regular season is over, if the Giants and Jones were to agree on a new deal in the coming days, any new money agreed to would not hit the team's 2022 cap because once the regular season is over, the CBA prohibits teams from dipping into any remaining cap money to sign players to new deals.
Most seem to agree that Jones's next contract will be either a three- or four-year deal with an average-per-year somewhere between $32-$35 million.
The Giants are likely to incorporate different mechanisms to ensure Jones earns as close as possible to that APY range, mechanisms that, in addition to a signing bonus that would prorate over the life of the new contract, would include roster bonuses, option bonuses, playoff incentives, workout bonuses, and per-game roster bonuses.
These mechanisms would limit the contract from becoming bloated toward the back end, thereby making it harder for the Giants to get out of the deal if they wanted to, either through termination or extending Jones further.
Another benefit of getting Jones done early is that it would free the use of the franchise tag for running back Saquon Barkley, whom the Giants are also said to be interested in re-signing.
The non-exclusive franchise tag for a running back is projected to be about $10.1 million--less than the projected $32.445 million it would cost to use the non-exclusive franchise tag on a quarterback.
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