Marcus Maye’s agent criticizes Jets with contract decision lingering

The New York Jets could re-sign safety Marcus Maye to a long-term deal. Amid that situation, his agent has a lot to say.

Coming off a two-win season, one that saw them not make the playoffs for the tenth consecutive year, the Jets own a great deal of cap space and could use the significant amount of money for a multitude of eventual decisions. One of those decisions, however, will involve an in-house player — safety Marcus Maye.

The 27-year-old’s rookie deal is expiring and the Jets could re-sign him to a long-term deal or actually franchise tag him, but amid the overwhelming situation, Maye’s agent doesn’t seem pleased…to say the least.

Erik Burkhardt of Select Sports Group took to Twitter Tuesday night and responded to ESPN’s Field Yates’ tweet discussing the Jets’ potential available cap space.

…Yet refuse to take care of their best player, Captain, & team-voted MVP in his prime who had several All-Pro votes…and who played out his entire rookie deal and even changed positions on his contract year (after they got rid of last yrs All-Pro safety). ✌?

— Erik Burkhardt (@ErikBurkhardt) March 3, 2021

“Last [year’s] All-Pro safety,” of course, refers to Jamal Adams, who was traded to the Seahawks for multiple draft picks and safety Bradley McDougald back in July. Adams’ departure from Florham Park led to Maye becoming the lead dog in the secondary, and following that change, Marcus notched career-highs in combined tackles (88), tackles for loss (four), sacks (two), pass breakups (11), and forced fumbles (two). He additionally tied his career-high in interceptions with a pair in that statistical category.

If the Jets need a few talented defensive pieces to build around for years to come, they should heavily consider keeping Maye in Florham Park.

Maye’s current rookie deal is a four-year contract worth a little over $6.5 million, but his Spotrac market value for a new long-term deal carries an average annual value of $13.2 million (projected four years, $53.2 million).

The franchise tag value for safeties is projected to be around $11.2 million, according to OverTheCap.

The Jets could likely afford either route given their current available cap space, and they may not be done clearing space. Their most recent cap casualty was defensive lineman Henry Anderson (cutting him saved the organization $8.2 million), but there’s a chance wide receiver Jamison Crowder and offensive guard Alex Lewis could additionally be on their way out (releasing either would save the team $10.4 million and $5.2 million, respectively).

Maye carries the talent and the organization carries the necessary space. This isn’t a complicated concept to grasp, Jets. Get a deal done.