The Indianapolis Colts and Daniel Jones finally have their deal, with Jordan Schultz first reporting Wednesday morning a two-year contract extension worth $88 million and up to $100 million after incentives. The deal, which will pay Jones $50 million in the first season and is the largest two-year contract ever, has been confirmed by multiple other reporters. $60 million of the contract is guaranteed.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport offered up full details on the contract:
- Base value of $88M is $5M more than if Jones played on back-to-back transition tags.
- Incentives starting with $100K earned for each game the team wins with Jones playing 50% total up to $6M.
- Jones will earn $50M in 2026 before the incentives — a $12.2M increase from the transition tag he would have played on in 2026.
- Jones will earn $38M in 2027 before incentives – $10M of which is guaranteed.
Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported earlier Wednesday that “significant progress” has been made in coming to an agreement on a two-year contract. Rapoport said that “there is optimism that a deal could be done today,” and sure enough, the deal is now done.
The #Colts and QB Daniel Jones have made significant progress towards a 2-year extension, per me and @TomPelissero, and there is optimism that a deal could be done today.
Jones and Indy have been working diligently since he was transitioned tagged and a conclusion is in view. pic.twitter.com/sGoIBBJkvg
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 11, 2026
Schultz had reported Tuesday that Jones had agreed to a deal, although he quickly walked back his report, saying that while the sides had “made progress on a long-term deal,” they had not “finalized” anything.
On March 3, the Colts officially placed the transition tag on Jones, which gave the team the ability to match any offer Jones received from another team. According to reports, the tag came on the heels of Jones, who is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon he suffered in December, asking for a deal that would pay him $50 million per year. The Colts’ initial offer, per NFL insider Albert Breer, was closer to $30 million a year. Notably, the rarely used transition tag is worth $37.833 million, and now this $50 million in Year 1 will give him a nice bump from that.
Jones, 28, played most of his first five seasons in the NFL with the New York Giants, who drafted him sixth overall in 2019. After being released by New York during the 2024 season, he joined the Minnesota Vikings, although he did not end up playing at all during that time.
Before the 2025 season, Jones signed a one-year, $14 million deal with the Colts and promptly beat out former first-round pick Anthony Richardson for the team’s starting job. He then led the Colts to an 8-2 start and what seemed to be a surefire playoff appearance. However, Indianapolis, which lost back-to-back games after its bye, also lost Jones in Week 14, when he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Colts finished the season 8-9 and on a seven-game losing streak.
Jones is planning to be back from his Achilles injury for the start of next season, and he’ll have Alec Pierce still by his side after his own mega-deal.