'It's still absurd' – NFL agent who witnessed Daniel Jones' Giants contract talks drops stunning insight into how it all happened

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Adam Holt | Last updated Jun 29, 2025 11:24 PM ET

The Daniel Jones era with the New York Giants was a forgettable one. They are looking forward to a potential future with Jaxson Dart, with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston as veteran options, as Brian Daboll tries to orchestrate a successful offense.

Daniel Jones has since moved forward with his career. He spent time with the Minnesota Vikings last season as a backup. Now, he is competing for a starting job at quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. During his time in The Big Apple, Jones inked a massive four-year contract extension that aged like milk, simply.

Daniel Jones contract discussion

In a recent interview with Ari Meirov, A.J. Stevens, VP of Client Strategy with Athletes First, talked about the surprising revelations that developed during Jones' negotiation for his extension in New York.

The Daniel Jones 4-year, $160M deal with the Giants is one of the most memorable contracts that @aj__stevens helped negotiate — and he shares the behind-the-scenes details, including putting together a 42-page manifesto to make their case to the team.

“It was absurd at the… https://t.co/kqrZJG28Lz pic.twitter.com/uPAqPbE5bq
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 29, 2025

Stevens, as well as others involved, felt that the work put in to convince the team was absurd. He did admit that the process did find the outcome they hoped for, a big pay day and notable commitment for Jones.

As Stevens explained, Athletes First CEO Brian Murphy planned to send the Giants a “whole history of the quarterback market and where Daniel fits into it.”

In order to put the plan into action, Stevens “spent the next 72 hours building out a 42-page ‘manifesto,’ I think the Giants called it, that gave a history of the quarterback position since 2010-ish, and eventually a proposal. So you had to read through 41 pages to actually see out first proposal to the Giants.” -- James Dudko, Heavy.com

In a decision that has been consistently mocked, matters were only made worse with a corresponding choice by the Giants.

With the Jones extension, they chose to look elsewhere at the running back position. That meant they were not bringing back star RB Saquon Barkley on a multi-year contract extension.

This discussion from Stevens isn't one that fans or NFL media often get. A look behind negotiations or the tough parts of contracts always fly under the radar. For the former Giants QB, though, he's probably glad he had certain people in his corner.