It got done.
Barely. With minutes to spare.
“Got a little dicey [Tuesday] when it was getting close to 3:30, 3:40, part of me was like ‘We may not get to the finish line,’ ” Giants general manager Joe Schoen said Wednesday. “And then the last four, five minutes we tied a bow on it, luckily.”
Schoen and the Giants — with a Tuesday 4 p.m. deadline looming — completed a four-year, $160 million contract for quarterback Daniel Jones.
If no agreement was reached, the Giants were set to put the one-year franchise tag on Jones, a development neither side wanted.
The tag had to be in by 4 p.m.
“It pretty much came all the way down to the finish line,” Schoen said. “I think, literally, it was like 3:54 the deal got done.”
Jones was at the Giants facility as time was winding down and the negotiations were dangerously approaching the point of no return.
“I think it was a big relief for everybody,” Schoen said of the deal finally being signed. “It was stressful enough for the three weeks as you’re going through the process, but with the time crunch at the end it was just added stress on top of it. I think there was a sense of relief on all parties afterwards. Gave some big hugs and then ran off to do the other things we needed to do before 4 o’clock.”
Schoen then put the franchise tag on Saquon Barkley.
Jones stayed late to physically sign the contract before heading off to a celebratory dinner with friends and his agents.
“Yeah, I picked up the tab, yup,” Jones said a day after he signed a deal that includes $82 million in fully guaranteed money. “It’s my first time going through it. There’s certainly a lot of, there’s an emotional component to it as well.
“We went up to the deadline. There were probably some points where you had more confidence and some points in time when you had less confidence. I wanted to find a way to work it out. That was very much my mindset.”
Schoen said at times during the three weeks working with Athletes First to come to an agreement, the sides were quite far apart.
“There was give and take, people were standing firm on what was most important to each side and at the end of the day each side had to give a little bit and that’s why it went down to the wire,” Schoen said.
“I know I’m stubborn, I know I like to dig in so some of that came out, probably different sides of me that those guys haven’t seen.”
On Tuesday, Schoen wanted to impose a noon deadline to come to an agreement so there would not have to be a mad dash as 4 p.m. neared.
“That didn’t happen,” Schoen said. “We went all the way to the deadline, we were scrambling, we had several emails prepared depending on which way everything went. Fortunately, the best-case scenario came to fruition.
“The best deals are won when both parties are happy at the end and I think that’s the landing spot we came to.”
Jones’ representation started out asking for a deal averaging well above $45 million per year — perhaps as high as $48 million annually.
“I think I saw some of that, there were plenty of numbers thrown out and some may have been true, some may not have been true,” Jones said.
“It’s negotiation, that’s part of it. I’m glad with where we ended up. I’m excited about it. I think it’s a great deal for both sides and allows us to do some things going forward and continue to grow and improve.”
By: Ny Post
