Colts make Daniel Jones a 100 million dollar man but don’t worry, it isn’t going to be as bad as it sounds
Colts get the extension with Daniel Jones across the finish line, but there is still more we need to learn about the contract.
The Indianapolis Colts knew what their top two priorities were for the offseason pretty much right after the season ended. Extend wide receiver Alec Pierce and quarterback Daniel Jones.
They got the first one done by extending Pierce ahead of the NFL’s legal tampering period, and then all eyes were on Jones, whom the team elected to transition-tag earlier this offseason. Well, now they’ve finalized an actual contract extension with their starting quarterback.
The Colts are handing Jones a two-year contract worth up to $100 million. That sounds insane at first, I get it, but I do think there is more information to consider here that actually matters more.
Colts massive $100 million contract to Daniel Jones isn’t what it seems
First up, I do think the Colts deserve a lot of credit for finding a way to make this only a two-year contract. That fact alone limits the risk coming back to Indianapolis with Jones coming off a torn right Achilles tendon. It’s also important to note that, even though the deal is worth up to $50 million a year, that amount won’t impact the Colts’ cap space.
We still don’t know the exact numbers on what Jones’ cap hits will be. That is what actually matters here. I understand why fans would be angry at seeing a $50 million-a-year deal given to a player coming off such a serious injury. Knowing his cap hit, though, will soften that blow tremendously.
Because fans shouldn’t care about how much money the owner is paying out in total to Jones. It won’t affect fans, and it won’t affect the team’s potential spending to improve their roster. Which is what the fan base actually cares about when it comes to contracts.
There are already reports out that this move will create more cap space for the Colts, for example. This means the cap hit has to be below the nearly $38 million it would have been on the transition tag. That is important and a win, no matter the actual price it ends up being.
Hopefully, the Colts use void years to find a way to get that cap hit as low as possible for 2026, which will allow them to go out and make needed moves to improve the defensive side of the ball. That is the Colts’ priority now, and we will soon know just how much cap space they have to work with once the full details of Jones’ contract are released.
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