NY Giants Ranked Among League's Worst in Getting Bang for Buck

The Giants have not gotten much value for their money during the last half-decade.

President of the New York Giants, John Mara, is shown at MetLife Stadium before his team hosts the New England Patriots, Thursday, November 23, 2023. | Kevin R. Wexler / USA TODAY NETWORK

The New York Giants Way used to evoke pride, professionalism, and championship-caliber football. Now, it is associated with organizational ineptitude and numerous losses. 

Management tried to return to the franchise's core, but both the team and fan base are still waiting to reap the rewards.

Big Blue's proactive offseason follows a trend of frugality. The conservative approach worked out even worse than one probably anticipated. Mike Sando of The Athletic compiled data that highlights some of the Giants' bad spending habits in the last five years.

Since 2020, New York ranks 25th in the NFL in cash-over-cap spending, which measures the percentage a team pays over the salary cap -- 5.6 percent. The squad is 28th in weighted wins (30), a metric "that gives additional weight to postseason victories."

By subtracting the Giants' weighted wins ranking from their cash-over-cap ranking, we get an unsatisfactory -3 bang-for-buck differential, per Sando. That is tied for 20th in the league.

Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch approved the investment of considerably more money in 2023, the team finishing eighth in cash-over-cap spending. 

The spike is attributed to the $80-plus-million guaranteed the organization committed to quarterback Daniel Jones.

New York ranks 10th in the same category in 2025, but the front office has devoted a majority of its resources to another part of the roster this time.

"The Giants’ top four cash commitments this season — $30.3 million to rookie Abdul Carter, $22.8 million to Brian Burns, $22 million to Paulson Adebo and $18 million to Jevon Holland — are on the defensive side of the ball," Sando noted.

The NY Giants have tried a couple of different methods in recent years

Jul 23, 2025; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll talk during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

When taking a hard look at all the information above, one can only draw an extremely demoralizing conclusion. 

Whether the Giants have tightened their belt, gone all in on the quarterback, or prioritized defense, the result has mostly been the same. They continue to flounder on the field.

New York owns a disconcerting 28-55-1 record in the last half-decade, with only one playoff victory and one winning season in that span. As fans know, the misery stretches back even farther than that. 

Multiple general managers and head coaches have tried to incorporate their own philosophies, but they have all failed to build a successful culture.

There was hope that current general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll could deliver effective change to the Meadowlands and reestablish the Giants as a consistent presence in the NFC. 

Besides a 9-7-1 campaign and a postseason road win versus the Minnesota Vikings during the 2022 campaign, that duo has disappointed.

There may not be much time left for the current regime to engineer a true turnaround. This team is 0-2 and headed toward a grueling portion of its schedule.

However, the Giants did look markedly better in Sunday's devastating overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys, so perhaps the offseason shopping spree is starting to pay off.

It is time the Giants and their embattled supporters get what they paid for.

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