When the New York Giants signed quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million extension in March of 2023, almost every pundit, fan, and expert in the business panned the deal.
He wasn’t worth it, they said. Jones was simply not a franchise quarterback and didn’t warrant a deal paying him like one.
Well, two years later, and it turns out his agency may have felt the same way. A.J. Stevens, an employee of Athletes First, recently reflected on the deal, calling the entire sales pitch “absurd.”
The Daniel Jones 4-year, $160M deal with the Giants is one of the most memorable contracts that @aj__stevens helped negotiate — and he shares the behind-the-scenes details, including putting together a 42-page manifesto to make their case to the team.
“It was absurd at the… https://t.co/kqrZJG28Lzpic.twitter.com/uPAqPbE5bq
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 29, 2025
Stevens and his team put together a package of supporting data, stats, and information for the Giants’ executives to gloss over regarding why Jones should be paid $40 million per year.
“I spent (72 hours) building out a 42-page manifesto, I think the Giants called it, that gave a history of the quarterback position since 2010-ish and eventually a proposal. So you had to read through 41 pages to actually see our first proposal to the Giants,” he said.
“It was absurd at the time. Looking back, it’s still absurd. . . It inevitably got us to the point where we did a buzzer-beater deal where there were seconds left before the deadline.”
The Giants bought it with the approval of general manager Joe Schoen and co-owner John Mara, who wanted to give Jones another chance. Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll then had to endure two more seasons of Jones with his inconsistency and injuries before pulling the plug.
The Giants released Jones last November. He signed on with the Minnesota Vikings. He is currently vying for the starting job with the Indianapolis Colts.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Daniel Jones’ agency on Giants contract: ‘It’s still absurd’