Inside The Negotiations That Kept Daniel Jones, New York Giants Together

As the minutes ticked down to the 4 PM ET deadline on Tuesday to either sign Daniel Jones to a long-term contract or apply a franchise tag on him, the New York Giants faced some relatable uncertainty: would their WiFi allow them to get a signed deal to the league office in time?

“That came up,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen told the assembled media on Wednesday. “One of our guys was saying, ‘I don’t trust the Wi-Fi. We’ve got to get this in.’ So, that was real. We tried to propose like, ‘Hey, noon deadline. Let’s agree to something by noon and then that way we don’t have to scramble at the end.’ And that didn’t happen. We went all the way to the deadline. We were scrambling. We were prepared. We had several emails prepared, depending which way everything went. Fortunately, I think the best-case scenario came to fruition.”

The scenario — signing Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million contract that can be worth up to $195 million with incentives — was never one in much doubt for either Schoen or Jones.

For the franchise quarterback, those final moments took place in the Giants’ facility itself — a key tell for team and player alike that there was enough goodwill and optimism that the deal would get done.

“Well, I think it’s better for the team,” Jones said of the new contract, which reduces New York’s cap number over the life of the contract. “It gives us a little more flexibility, and that’s an important component to it. I wanted to be here. I wanted to find a way to work it out so that it was good for both sides, and it worked. And it allowed us to have an opportunity to do what’s best for us going forward. So, I think that was a key component to it. I think we did that.”

Part of what helped accelerate the process, beyond the question of motivation on both sides, was an ability to tune out the outside noise. For Jones, that came with a change in agencies, though he remained respectful of his former representatives. Left unsaid, but obvious, is that if Jones thought this would be the conclusion — a deal at a number he wanted — he wouldn’t have changed agencies just weeks ahead of signing the contract.

“I’m certainly very grateful and appreciative of CAA and have some really strong relationships with those guys,” Jones said. “I just thought this was the best thing for me going forward to work with Athletes First. And it was great working with them. I think we worked hard these last few weeks to get it done. And I don’t want to speculate on how it would’ve gone if it was different. You never really know. But we got it done, and we’re here. We’re excited about it. I’m excited to be back.”

As for New York, the chatter about Jones’ value didn’t hold much sway for Schoen and his team, much as the previous administration ignored naysayers about Jones, including other quarterbacks in the same draft, when New York selected him sixth overall back in 2019. (That quarterback, Baker Mayfield, will not be receiving a four-year, $160 million contract this offseason.)

“We can’t worry about what people are saying outside the building,” Schoen said. “All we care about is inside these walls. And we’ve got a very talented, experienced coaching staff and a very talented personnel staff, I believe. And what matters is what we think inside this building. That’s how we’re always going to make decisions. We’re not going to worry about the outside noise. And we’re going to be convicted in what we’re doing. It’s a well thought out process, and we’re happy with the decision that we made. And we’re happy to move forward with Daniel.”

What Schoen did, something that separates him from his predecessor, Dave Gettleman, was to craft the deal with salary cap flexibility in mind. He even provided fans with a roadmap of why the new contract, along with Saquon Barkley’s franchise tag, leaves New York in a better financial position than before.

“Yeah, with the salary cap and the signing bonus, again, where we were, the way we did Daniel’s deal with the signing bonus, that spreads out over four years,” Schoen said. “And then his P5 is $9.5 (million) this year. And then the proration of the signing bonus, which I think was $36 (million), so that’s where we have money there. Everybody looks at the $40 (million) number, but that frees up some money. We’ll see what happens with Saquon. The franchise number is just over $10 (million). If you extend him, and there’s a signing bonus involved, you can free up more cap space. There’s more people. (Defensive lineman) Dexter Lawrence is a guy we’ve started talking with his representatives. He’s on the fifth-year option. You can lower that number with a signing bonus. So, the signing bonus allows you to spread the money over the length of the contract up to five years, and that’s how you’re able to lower the yearly amount that counts against the cap.”

But in case you want it boiled down, the follow up question was a simple one: does it leave New York money for everyone else?

Schoen’s answer was even simpler.

“Yes.”