You know what they say — one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. That saying is prevalent in every walk of life, including the NFL.
For the past 15 months, the New York Giants have been lambasted for inking their inconsistent and oft-injured quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million deal of which $92 million is guaranteed.
Many feel Jones did nothing to warrant such an extension while others point to the stark reality that Jones has basically played on subpar offense in his five NFL seasons that covered three head coaches and a glut of offensive coordinators and coaches.
The contract isn’t as egregious as one might think. The going rate for a starting quarterback is rising by the minute. This past week, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed their young signal caller, Trevor Lawrence to a five-year, $275 million deal with $142 million guaranteed.
Jones’ deal averages out to $40 million per season while Lawrence’s averages $55 million per.
The Giants appear to be getting the better deal when comparing the two players. Their numbers through their first 48 NFL games are nearly identical.
Comparing Trevor Lawrence and Daniel Jones' career starts may surprise you https://t.co/KWMOKk3TdA pic.twitter.com/L6lDgu6dyr
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) June 13, 2024
Lawrence is 20-30 in his 50 NFL starts with Jacksonville and 1-1 in the postseason. Jones is 22-36-1 in his 59 starts with the Giants.
Jones has averaged 5.8 yards per attempt on the ground with 13 touchdowns while Lawrence averages 4.7 yards per attempt with 11 scores.
There are also those adjusted EPA numbers…
Once one adjusts for drops (and other factors working against him), Lawrence's stats end up looking pretty good! https://t.co/ipGeo7eAa4 pic.twitter.com/iVC4m9VRGZ
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) June 14, 2024
Fans, pundits, and detractors have to get over the Jones contract now as you can see in the above graphic that all of the top-paid quarterbacks have also never won the Super Bowl with the exception of Patrick Mahomes.
This doesn’t mean the Jones contract is necessarily a good deal, but the expected evolution of quarterback contracts has made it much more palatable.
