Grading the deal: Colts hand Daniel Jones a massive contract extension, but the fine print shows why it’s a good deal for Indy
A look at how the Colts graded out after giving Daniel Jones a 2-year contract worth up to $100 million
The Indianapolis Colts got their highly anticipated extension with Daniel Jones across the finish line on Wednesday. This was the team’s top priority at the moment, and now that it’s done, it should open them up to make moves elsewhere, especially the defensive side of the ball.
Jones landed a massive two-year contract worth up to $100 million, making it the largest two-year contract in NFL history. So did Jones flat out rob the Colts, or did Indy do pretty well for themselves with how the contract is built? Let’s discuss that and more by grading the signing.
Colts lock in their QB for the 2026 season with an out ahead of 2027 if needed
Grade: B+
Alright, let’s get the obvious part out of the way, giving a quarterback fresh off a torn Achilles a $44 million a year contract that can move up to $50 is a steep price. That reason alone keeps this out of the A range for me. I do think there’s a lot about this deal that is a big win for the Colts, though.
First of all, this only being a two-year contract instead of a four-year commitment limits a lot of the risk that this deal could have put on the Colts going forward. Now this situation becomes pretty simple for the Colts, either Jones gets back to playing high-level football like we saw to begin last year and another contract will be given come 2028, or if things go off the rails in 2026 a new head coach and general manager probably come in and would likely move on from Jones altogether.
Secondly, the Colts were able to limit the cap hit of his contract, giving them more flexibility to make other needed moves. On the transition tag, Jones was going to carry a cap hit of nearly $38 million in 2026. Instead, it appears the cap hit will come in under $15 million, giving the Colts just about $23 million extra in cap space to attack the second wave of free agency.
I think the Colts did a good job here, rewarding Jones for his play last year, but also protecting themselves and allowing for roster flexibility. All things considered, the Colts deserve a lot of credit for pulling this off, even though, sadly, the big talking point will be how they gave him a massive two-year $100 million contract.
A to Z Sports’ top 100 free agency ranking for Daniel Jones
Final rank: 12
The skinny: Jones, having to recover from two significant injuries, makes his situation a bit complicated. Still, the ability he showed through the first half of the year is more than enough to say he will be the top QB on the market if he makes it there without a new deal from Indianapolis first. – A to Z Sports Top 100 Free Agents Rankings
Indianapolis Colts News
Latest news makes the Indianapolis Colts’ missing out on star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson hurt even more
The Colts not landing Trey Hendrikson already stings, but the latest update makes it even worse.
