The Colts will move Daniel Jones‘ transition tag off the books. The sides are in agreement on a two-year, $88MM extension, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports.
It is the largest two-year contract in NFL history, Schultz adds, noting the deal could balloon to $100MM via incentives. The contract includes $50MM fully guaranteed and another $10MM guaranteed for injury, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
The $50MM fully guaranteed far exceeds where the Seahawks went for Sam Darnold last year or where the Buccaneers closed with Baker Mayfield in 2024. The transition tag and a few recent Colts developments brought strong leverage for Jones, as he secured more guaranteed than either more accomplished QB despite only agreeing to a two-year deal.
We heard earlier today the Colts and Jones were moving toward a two-year contract. This is another monster deal for Jones, who played last season on a one-year, $14MM pact. Three years after Jones scored a win — via a four-year, $160MM deal — with the Giants, he cashes in after an injury-shortened Colts campaign.
In moving Jones’ $37.83MM transition tag off the books before the start of the 2026 league year (3pm CT today), the Colts will save considerable cap room. Jones will score a huge raise from his 2025 pay, and the two-year term length will allow for another prime-years bite at the apple — should Jones sustain his form this time around. The former No. 6 overall pick famously did not do so on his $40MM-AAV Giants accord, which Big Blue jettisoned during the second year of the contract.
The soon-to-be 29-year-old quarterback will see $50MM in Year 1, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Jones had targeted a deal in the $50MM-per-year range; that ask was out of step with what the Colts desired. Indianapolis’ first offer was believed to come in near the Darnold range (three years, $100.5MM). But Jones, as he did with the Giants in 2023, again stood in commanding leverage position thanks to Indy trading two first-round picks for Sauce Gardner. The Colts had made no secret of their interest in re-signing Jones, and another player-friendly accord will emerge for the inconsistent QB as a result.
Each game the Colts win will result in a $500K bump for Jones, so long as he plays at least 50% of the team’s offensive snaps (per Rapoport). Notably, $10MM of Jones’ 2027 salary is guaranteed. That represents the injury guarantee, with Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio noting that amount vests in March 2027. Jones received two fully guaranteed years from the Giants, but it took a four-year commitment to secure those terms. That March 2027 date gives the Colts a potential out in case Jones flops on a big-ticket deal again. Indy can escape the contract before that guarantee vests.
Jones certainly would have been the top free agent available, value-wise (an area where the QB has specialized), but the Colts were far apart on terms and did not leave it to chance by transition-tagging him. No team had unholstered a transition tag on a quarterback since 1996, with ex-Colts first-rounder Jeff George being cuffed by the Falcons. That relationship combusted months later, with Atlanta cutting the ex-Indianapolis bust after three games. The Colts will be hoping Jones can stop their QB carousel, one that helped strengthen the eighth-year veteran’s leverage.
The Colts have used eight different Week 1 starting quarterbacks over the past nine seasons. The carousel has defined Chris Ballard‘s GM tenure. Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon brought back both Ballard and Shane Steichen for a fourth season, largely giving them a mulligan for Jones’ injury-shortened 2025 slate. While Jones was playing well in guiding the Colts to an 8-2 start, he now has a checkered medical sheet. Jones has missed time due to ACL and Achilles tears, along with multiple bouts of neck trouble. Before sustaining the Achilles tear last season, Jones was playing through a fractured fibula.
Jones’ struggles on his lucrative Giants deal moved Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen to the hot seat in New York, and while the QB has a chance to prolong Ballard and Steichen’s Indy tenures, their futures likely ride on this contract working out. Having Jones at $14MM represented a good value play for the Colts. With Alec Pierce now at $29MM per year and Jones on another player-friendly deal, will Indy be able to sustain its first-half form from last season?
The Duke product averaged more than eight yards per attempt for the first time last season, finishing at 8.1 with a career-best 68% completion rate. Jones posted a 19:8 TD-INT ratio and ranked eighth in QBR. The Colts were on a torrid pace, but they could not sustain it. The team going 8-4 with Jones available and 0-5 without him — though, Philip Rivers’ comeback was among the most memorable re-emergences in modern sports history — brought another negotiating point for the QB’s camp. The Vikings, who have not landed on their veteran QB option to compete with J.J. McCarthy, were also believed to be monitoring this situation.
Jones had turned down Minnesota despite receiving a better offer last year, correctly determining he had a better chance for a starting job in Indianapolis. While Anthony Richardson is still a Colt, he has been given permission to find a trade partner. Jones’ deal effectively ensures the former No. 4 overall pick will not be back.
Expected to be back for Week 1 after another round of rehab, Jones will not have Michael Pittman Jr. to target any longer. The Colts traded their $24MM-per-year receiver to the Steelers in a salary-dump move, as they now have Pierce on a WR1 deal. The team also traded Adonai Mitchell in the Gardner swap, leaving Pierce, Josh Downs and Tyler Warren as Jones’ top 2026 targets — as of now. The team also lost right tackle Braden Smith in free agency, though four O-line starters are returning to help Jones and All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor.
Averaging 5.7 and 6.1 yards per attempt during the two seasons on his second Giants contract, Jones will face considerable pressure to stick the landing this time. Though, his Kirk Cousins-like negotiating savviness has removed any incentive on the financial side. Still, Jones playing well in Indy will position him for a lucrative extension or a 2028 free agency foray. The Colts will hope this pricey contract can bring an end to the post-Andrew Luck period of QB instability.
Wow 44M a year. Crazy numbers. DJ congratulations
Imagine paying $44M AAV for a guy who hasn’t tossed for 20 touchdowns in a season since his rookie year.
Should give him a one year, seems to only play really well in prove it years
Cousins ‘Likes this deal!’. He kicked off average QB’s being well overpaid.
So this will give him a baseline AAV that’s something like 16th in the league, and it’s only a 2 year commitment, all of which would be reasonable if he hadn’t torn his achilles in December after having some rough games in the lead-up.
I don’t think Jones will ever be as good for a full season as he was for the first 8 games of 2025, but I do think he can be a guy worth the 19th highest quarterback salary in 2027 when he’s a full season removed from the achilles and a couple of guys have leapfrogged him. Staying with Steichen et al makes sense for both sides… as long as Steichen doesn’t get canned if he has a rough year with Jones coming off the injury, which is very possible.
I can see the reasonable sides of this, but I wouldn’t want to be betting my job on being the second team to pay Daniel Jones after a spike in performance.
I would certainly rather gamble on Kyler Murray at $1.3 million for one year than Daniel Jones at $88 million for two.
Also worth considering that by transition tagging him, the Colts effectively started the negotiations at one year $37.8 million for the season when Jones is coming back from an achilles. That’s a pretty damn high floor for Jones in a negotiation.
Some fans would suggest gambling on Murray is being “short” sighted 🙂
A big factor in Jones play last year was having an excellent RB in Jonathan Taylor to move the sticks, then a solid OL to keep him upright. Had he not been injured, he might have been in MVP conversations. Takeaway Taylor and I don’t think Jones plays as well.
I wish I could get paid what Daniel Jones and Kirk Cousins got paid coming off an Achilles injury
funny, havent heard that one before.
would you take half as much, if offered?
In a heartbeat
Teams are desperate for competent starting QBs – so they will ALWAYS overpay if you have even ONE decent-to-good season on your resume. a 2 year deal would have been fine if it was for half of this total amount – DJones needs to prove that this one season with Indy was not a fluke (and was due to finally getting good coaching) before he should be accepting this much money in pay.
Giants fans are laughing at this. Jones is not a $40 mil a year qb. A decent deal at $30 mil
Giants fans can go laugh at themselves if they are seeking humor.
Good Looks and a Toothy smile get you 44 million a year. Imagine what he would get if he were a good QB!
How does this dude keep getting away with this lol
Jones has to be one of the luckiest people to ever live. I mean, he was over drafted by the Giants at #6 overall from Duke. Most analysts had him going in the 2nd or 3rd round. So he gets that large rookie contract. Making $25.6 million. Then going into his 4thyear, which the Giants declined his 5th year option, he has a decent year and leads the Giants to a playoff win. So he gets a 4yr /$160 million contract. With $81 million guaranteed!
Then in the 1st year of that contract he goes down with an ACL tear and the Giants finally realize he needs to go after 2 years on the contract as when he came back he stunk.
On to the Vikings practice squad. Then the Colts are hoodwinked and give him $13 million guaranteed. He once again pulls the wool over their eyes and now gets a 2 yr / $88 million contract! Coming off an Achilles tendon tear! the only thing he could do well was run. Now he has an ACL injury and an Achilles tendon injury! Yeah that won’t affect his mobility and speed. Plus they have no idea when he’ll be able to come back. Will he miss training camp? The start of the preseason? Any regular season games? No one knows.
So in all, Jones has now managed to scam naive GMs around the league out of $127million dollars in guaranteed money. Good luck with him Indy.
Let’s see him pass his physical first
you think teams would learn .. colts had a very favorable schedule pre-jones injury .. at least it won’t be a long term cap killer when he reverts back to his big blue form