Giants Extend Jameis Winston's Contract With Two-Year, $13 Million Deal

The Giants extended Jameis Winston for two years and $13 million, keeping Jaxson Dart's mentor and a team leadership-council member through 2028.

New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Giants will have one fewer pending unrestricted free agent to worry about after this season, and that man is important.

Per NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Giants and backup quarterback Jameis Winston agreed to a two-year, $13 million contract extension. The extension will keep the 32-year-old Winston with Big Blue through the 2028 season.

A text I got last year on Jameis Winston’s impact with the #Giants:

“He’s the ultimate glue guy. I don’t know how many backup QBs can reach every player the way he does.” https://t.co/EJCj0flPLB

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) September 6, 2026

Winston, who has both embraced and been embraced by the New York area, has frequently been praised by starting quarterback Jaxson Dart for the wisdom and guidance that have been instrumental in his own development.

Prior to being drafted, Dart even referred to Winston as his dream teammate, praising Winston for his attention to detail in his workouts and weekly preparation regardless of whether he’s scheduled to play or not. 

“I feel like he would be like the best teammate because you hear everybody talk about him--like he's super football, like intelligent,” Dart said. “And I feel like he'd be a really good guy to learn from.” 

In addition to being a mentor to Dart, Winston is viewed as a locker room leader and was named one of the eight players selected by head coach John Harbaugh for the team’s leadership council, a rare honor for a team’s backup signal-caller.

Winston, who is one of the better backup quarterbacks in the NFL, was due to carry a $5 million cap hit this year, with $3.95 million of that being his base salary ($1.3 million guaranteed).

The former first overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft began his career with the pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before moving on to the Saints and Browns.

He also has escalators and incentives in his contract, which could push his earnings even higher should he be be pressed into a starting role for any length of time.

Last season, Winston appeared in three games for the Giants with two starts. He completed 37-of-66 pass attempts for 567 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news, and send your mailbag questions to us.