“That was something personal that Daniel wanted to do,” Schoen said in a news conference last Tuesday. “They had no idea what value we thought. I had no idea what they would ask. That was totally separate.”
Jones would have earned $32.416 million in 2023 if the Giants placed the franchise tag on him. That sum would have counted directly against the team’s salary cap figure, severely limiting how active Schoen could be in free agency.
“That’s something everybody realizes,” Schoen said. “If you have to franchise Daniel, I don’t think that’s best for the organization. I don’t believe it’s best for Daniel especially as we try to build the team around him.”
After signing Jones, the Giants placed the franchise tag on Barkley, arguably the offense’s best player. Barkley will earn $10.09 million if he plays under the tag, but the Giants and Barkley can continue negotiations on an extension until July 17.
Schoen and Barkley’s agent, Kim Miale of Roc Nation Sports, had started early discussions on a long-term contract during the team’s bye week in November and have continued talks since the start of the off-season. At the combine, Schoen said he hoped to sign Barkley to an extension but said there was a gap in the asking price.
“We’ve got to draw a line in the sand like, ‘We’re not going any further,’” Schoen said. “And if it goes past this, ‘All right, let’s shift to Plan B.’ Hopefully we don’t get to that.”
Jones’s deal comes as teams continue to set the quarterback market. The Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday placed the franchise tag on Lamar Jackson after two years of deadlock in their talks about a long-term contract, and the New Orleans Saints on Monday signed Derek Carr to a four-year deal, with $100 million guaranteed.
The landscape will shift again as the star quarterbacks of the 2020 draft class — the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert — are expected to sign contract extensions.
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