When the Giants declined Daniel Jones' fifth-year option, little was known about whether the quarterback would remain with the team. He had endured three middling-at-best seasons with the team before Brian Daboll took over as New York's head coach.
Under Daboll, Jones enjoyed a breakout season. He completed a career-high 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns and just five interceptions while adding 708 yards and seven TDs on the ground. The then-25-year-old looked like he was just starting to scratch the surface of his ceiling, and many were excited to see what he could do in another year with Daboll.
There was, however, one issue. Jones was set to be a free agent after the 2022 NFL season, so the Giants would have to sign him to a long-term deal. That brought up a question of just how much Jones would be worth given the current market for NFL quarterbacks.
On one hand, Jones looked like a solid starter as he led the Giants to the playoffs. And with more growth, he could eventually cement himself as an above-average quarterback. On the other hand, he hadn't looked nearly as good in three seasons of work previously. That made many posit that he might just be a one-hit-wonder.
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The Giants believed that the former told more of the truth about Jones. As such, they signed him to a lucrative extension rather than slap him with the franchise tag. Here's a breakdown of that contract extension and where it places Jones among the NFL's highest-paid quarterbacks.
Daniel Jones contract details
Jones signed a four-year, $160 million contract with the Giants during the 2023 NFL offseason. The contract came with $92 million in guarantees, per Spotrac.com, and made him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL.
Below is a look at Jones' contract, which changed a bit in structure when he agreed to convert some of his base salary to a signing bonus ahead of the 2023 NFL season:
| Year | Base salary | Bonuses | Restructure | Cap hit | Dead cap |
| 2023 | $1,080,000 | $12,250,000 | $2,105,000 | $15,435,000 | $81,500,000 |
| 2024 | $35,500,000 | $11,605,000 | $2,105,000 | $47,105,000 | $69,315,000 |
| 2025 | $30,000,000 | $11,605,000 | $2,105,000 | $41,605,000 | $22,210,000 |
| 2026 | $46,500,000 | $12,105,000 | $2,105,000 | $58,605,000 | $11,105,000 |
The structure of Jones' contract gives him a relatively small cap hit of $15.4 million in 2023 before ballooning to $47.1 million the following season. The Giants may look to routinely restructure this deal because he will have a cap hit north of $40 million in three seasons — including an unpalatable $58.6 million in 2026 — if they don't alleviate some of the pressure via a restructure.
Additionally, it should be noted that if Jones' 2022 performance turns out to be a flash in the pan, the Giants will be able to move on from him after the 2024 NFL season. At that point, they can cut or trade him while only taking on a dead-cap hit of $22.2 million. Dead cap space is a salary cap allocation designated to guaranteed money spent on players no longer on the active roster.
All told, this contract is a mutually beneficial deal for the two sides. Jones cashes in on his breakout year while the Giants guarantee they will have him for at least four more years but have a way to move on from him if he regresses.
And when looking at the rest of the quarterback market, it seems like Jones got a market-value deal.
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Highest-paid NFL QBs for 2023
Jones is set to be one of the NFL's 10-highest-paid quarterbacks for the 2023 season. His average annual value of $40 million ties him for 10 league-wide with Dak Prescott and Matthew Stafford.
Below is a look at the highest-paid quarterbacks for 2023.
| Rank | Player | AAV |
| 1 | Joe Burrow | $55 million |
| 2 | Justin Herbert | $52.5 million |
| 3 | Lamar Jackson | $52 million |
| 4 | Jalen Hurts | $51 million |
| 5 | Russell Wilson | $48.5 million |
| 6 | Kyler Murray | $46.1 million |
| 7 | Deshaun Watson | $46 million |
| 8 | Patrick Mahomes | $45 million |
| 9 | Josh Allen | $43 million |
| 10 | Dak Prescott | $40 million |
| Daniel Jones | $40 million | |
| Matthew Stafford | $40 million |
Jones also is tied for 10 in total contract value, as he, Prescott and Stafford are all making $160 million over the course of their respective deals.
| Rank | Player | Value |
| 1 | Patrick Mahomes | $450 million |
| 2 | Joe Burrow | $275 million |
| 3 | Justin Herbert | $262.5 million |
| 4 | Lamar Jackson | $260 million |
| 5 | Josh Allen | $258 million |
| 6 | Jalen Hurts | $255 million |
| 7 | Russell Wilson | $242.6 million |
| 8 | Kyler Murray | $230.5 million |
| 9 | Deshaun Watson | $230 million |
| 10 | Dak Prescott | $160 million |
| Daniel Jones | $160 million | |
| Matthew Stafford | $160 million |
The only area in which Jones is lagging a bit behind is guaranteed money. He has $92 million in practical guarantees in his contract, and that ranks 14th among NFL quarterbacks. Given Jones' lack of consistent success, it makes sense that he would receive less in guarantees than his other highly paid counterparts.
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Daniel Jones net worth, career earnings
According to Sportskeeda, Jones has a net worth of roughly $25 million. That number should increase as he gets further into his four-year, $160 million contract.
As for Jones' career earnings, he made $26.2 million on his rookie deal with the Giants. He will see that amount increase drastically in 2023; and even if he doesn't live up to his contract, his career earnings will still eclipse $100 million thanks to the guarantees in the deal.
Below is a breakdown of Jones' earnings by season, per Spotrac.com.
| Year | Earnings |
| 2019 | $17,179,768 |
| 2020 | $1,751,548 |
| 2021 | $3,003,096 |
| 2022 | $4,194,644 |
| Total | $26,129,056 |
Jones is set to nearly triple his career earnings in 2023. He will make $48.75 million in the first season of his new contract and at least $30.5 million in each of the following three seasons.
