Marcus Maye Pulls Offer Off Table, No Deal With Jets Likely

Well it looks like we have our answer to another one of the unextended franchise tagged players. It does not appear safety Marcus Maye will be getting a new contract from the Jets before the July 15th deadline.

The team has not responded to the latest proposal from Maye’s camp, and Maye has now pulled that offer off the table, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). “No deal is expected,” Rapsheet adds. That would seem to conflict with the Jets’ stance from May that they were “working relentlessly” to get a deal done.

A source also told Rapoport that “negotiations went south weeks before the tag deadline” after New York offered a contract that had an average annual value “about 20% below even the tag amount for 2021.” No wonder he rejected it. Maye is currently set to make about $10.6MM playing under the tag this season. 

We heard a couple of weeks ago that the Florida product could be looking for a deal with an AAV of around $14MM, while the Jets viewed the deal John Johnson got from the Browns ($11.25MM AAV over three years) as a better comp.

Rapoport says that Maye understandably turned down the Jets’ offer, and “had significantly more in APY and guarantees from multiple teams heading into FA.” It sounds like he’s content to now play out this season in New York, and look to cash in with one of those other team’s in next year’s free agency.

Drafted 39th overall in 2017, Maye has never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, but was graded as the league’s fifth-best safety in 2020 by Pro Football Focus.

The 28-year-old was productive last season, finishing with 88 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, 11 passes defended, and two interceptions. He’s started all 54 games that he’s appeared in over his four years with the Jets.

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