The Giants still have plenty to figure out this offseason before training camp starts this summer. We’ll find out who they’ll be drafting soon enough, and there needs to be a resolution to the Saquon Barkley contract saga. However, Joe Schoen and Co. caught their big fish a while ago by signing quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year extension.
While the signal-caller got a big pile of guaranteed money, it was pretty clear that the Giants got things mostly how they wanted in negotiations. That included a lower 2023 salary cap hit so the front office could make moves to put weapons around Jones.
Based on reporting, Giants fans thought Jones’ cap hit for the upcoming season was $21 million. It turns out that number is actually $21.75 million. It’s obviously not a huge difference. I mean, this doesn’t change the landscape of New York’s offseason plans. But what gives? Why did it increase overnight?
The Athletic‘s Dan Duggan provided us with some answers:
I'm told the change is due to Jones' $750K incentive for playing 65% of the snaps during the regular season & the winning the division is automatically categorized as Likely To Be Earned, and therefore counts on the cap. Why? Because the CBA says so: pic.twitter.com/Ofz6BZOBKN
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) April 25, 2023
He also added that this is likely not news to the Giants, but just news to us. And don’t worry, if Jones doesn’t actually earn this bonus, New York will get that money back in the form of future cap space:
No. He only receives the $750K bonus is he plays 65% of the snaps and they win the division. But that $750K will count on the cap this year. They'll get a $750K credit in 2024 if he doesn't achieve that incentive https://t.co/n4anEUZGbE
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) April 25, 2023
Ah, yes — the joys of NFL economics, right? In the grand scheme of things, it’s not all that complicated, but there are many more moving parts to it all. You know, thanks to guaranteed and non-guaranteed money, as well as what does and doesn’t count against a team’s salary cap number.
Jones’ cap hit, whether it’s $21 million or $21.75 million, doesn’t really matter. The Giants got the 2023 financial flexibility they were looking for to restock the roster after a surprise trip to the playoffs last year. This is just something for us to note since Jones’ contract status/cap hit hasn’t been on our minds since both sides struck a deal weeks ago.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
