New Daniel Jones Rumors Reveal QB's Contract Asking Price After Colts' Sam Darnold-Like Offer

The Indianapolis Colts placed the transition tag on quarterback Daniel Jones in hopes of retaining him this offseason, but it's clear that the signal-caller is hoping to get paid in a big way.

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported that the Colts' initial offer to Jones "was in the range of Sam Darnold's three-year, $100.5 million deal last offseason," but "a deal worth $50 million per year would be more in the ballpark" of what he would've accepted before receiving the transition tag.

By placing the transition tag on Jones, the Colts will have the right to match any offer he receives from another team on the free-agent market. If he remains in Indianapolis without signing an offer sheet, it will be on a one-year guaranteed salary of $37.8 million.

Breer went on to explain why the Colts are motivated to secure a long-term deal for Jones before the 2026 season.

"If Jones plays great in 2026, then the team would either transition tag him again in '27 at $45.4 million or franchise him, and at that point, he'd have the leverage to ask for top-of-the-market money, since a third tag is prohibitively expensive," Breer stated. "That doesn't mean the Colts have to pay him $50 million per year now. However, it does mean that it'd behoove them to explore a longer-term deal."

Jones is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, so it would be a major risk for the Colts to commit $50 million to him right now. However, he blossomed into an MVP candidate in Indianapolis in 2025, proving that he can be the franchise quarterback it has been searching for over the past few years.

Jones is betting on himself, and it will be interesting to see if the Colts meet his contract demands to lock him up for the next few years.