Hoo boy. The New Orleans Saints’ lucrative contract with free agent quarterback Derek Carr turned out to be the first domino in a series of moves around the NFL — within 24 hours, the Seattle Seahawks and Geno Smith agreed to a three-year contract extension, the New York Giants reached an agreement with Daniel Jones on a four-year deal, and the Baltimore Ravens issued the non-exclusive franchise tag on Lamar Jackson (which the Atlanta Falcons are uninterested in contesting, not that anyone asked. Quitters).
Derek Carr is averaging $37.5 million on his four-year deal with New Orleans, but it’s actually closer to $33 million per-year thanks to some creative contract structuring. Smith is right there with a $35 million per-year average of his own. What’s bizarre is the $40 million annual value that Jones got from the Giants.
