Giants release Daniel Jones, and these are the financial implications of the move
It was a mistake for the New York Giants to give quarterback Daniel Jones a four-year, $160 million extension in 2023. But he had two years of guaranteed money, so it would be hard to fix it before 2025. Well, in some way, they did it. The Giants had benched Daniel Jones earlier this week […]
It was a mistake for the New York Giants to give quarterback Daniel Jones a four-year, $160 million extension in 2023. But he had two years of guaranteed money, so it would be hard to fix it before 2025. Well, in some way, they did it.
The Giants had benched Daniel Jones earlier this week to avoid an injury that would guarantee him additional $23 million in salary for next season. This week, he was moved down to QB3, then to QB4 with the addition of Tim Boyle to the practice squad, and a period that included reps as a scout team safety.
It was too much for everyone involved. Daniel Jones requested a release, and the New York Giants agreed. Now, the former first-round pick is not a Giant anymore.
Ramifications
For right now, the release doesn't make much difference for the Giants, because the 2024 salary was fully guaranteed. That means his $47.855 million cap hit will be kept as dead money. That's unless someone claims him on waivers.
After the trade deadline, every NFL player (including vested veterans) goes through the waiver system. And if someone claims him, the new team absorbs the rest of his contract. This means $11.8 million in salary for this year.
However, considering the high salary and the risk of injury, which could trigger future guarantees, it's an unlikely scenario.
Real difference
Since this year's salary won't be affected, most likely, the big difference for the Giants is that a release now means the team can't apply the post-June 1st designation. Daniel Jones will count $22.21 million in dead money for the Giants in 2025, and there's no way around it.
Had the Giants waited until the offseason, they could have released him with that designation, splitting the dead money in two years. It would be $11.105 million in both 2025 and 2026, but the Giants wouldn't get the cap relief until June.
As the decision had been made, it makes sense to accept the full effect in 2025 and move on from everything as soon as possible. Even considering the dead money, the Giants will still open up $19.395 million in cap space next season.
For now, the Giants hope that a desperate team claims Daniel Jones. And the rest of the season will have Tommy DeVito — maybe just him, maybe some of Drew Lock as well.
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