Giants' J.J. McCarthy Trade Would Cost $3.8 Million in 2027; 2026 Roster Bonus Unsettled

Under the trade the Giants announced Monday, they would take on the rest of J.J. McCarthy's 2026 base salary and his fully guaranteed $3,775,200 for 2027. The Vikings would keep his signing-bonus proration. How much the Giants pay in 2026 depends chiefly on one unsettled item: a $1,706,800 roster bonus in his 2026 pay.

Both teams announced the trade Monday, the Giants sending a 2027 fifth-round pick to Minnesota, and the NFL.com transaction wire lists it under Sept. 28. The Giants' announcement said the deal is pending a physical. As of 11:50 a.m. ET Tuesday, neither team had announced that he passed it, and McCarthy did not appear on the Giants' roster page.

What McCarthy costs, and who pays

McCarthy is in the third year of the four-year, $21,854,796 contract he signed as the No. 10 pick in 2024. All of it is guaranteed. Minnesota paid him a $12,714,396 signing bonus, which counts against the Vikings' cap at $3,178,599 a year through 2027, or $6,357,198 over 2026 and 2027.

His 2026 base salary is $1,075,000. Our method assumes it is paid in 18 equal weekly checks over the regular season and that the Giants owe every check from Week 4 on. That is 15 of 18 checks, or $895,833. Over the Cap uses the same weekly method on the Giants' own sheet: Jake Haener's identical $1,075,000 base shows as $955,556, or 16 of 18 checks, after his signing before Week 3. Spotrac lists McCarthy's Giants cap hit at $836,108, about 14 checks. The difference is about one check.

McCarthy's contract also carries a $1,706,800 roster bonus in 2026. Spotrac lists it as dead cap on Minnesota's books. Over the Cap's trade calculation counts it as leaving Minnesota's books, meaning it would move with the player. We found no team or league document settling it.

His 2027 salary is $1,190,000 in base pay plus a $2,585,200 roster bonus, $3,775,200 in all, fully guaranteed. Both databases agree on that figure.

Without the roster bonus, the Giants' total through 2027 is $4,671,033 by our count, or $4,611,308 on Spotrac's weekly figure. If the bonus transferred, our total is $6,377,833.

Over the Cap listed the Giants at $10,876,352 in cap space Tuesday morning. That figure still counted Haener at $955,556 and had no line for McCarthy. The Giants keep Haener's Week 3 check after waiving him; Spotrac lists "Jake Haener WAIVED $59,722." Removing Haener's $955,556 charge, except the $59,722 that stays on the books, and charging McCarthy's remaining 2026 base salary puts the Giants at about $10.88 million to $10.94 million, by our estimate, without the roster bonus. A practice-squad contract for Haener would count against that space.

Spotrac listed the Giants at $11,864,733, a figure that already counts McCarthy and not Haener's full charge. The two databases were about $1 million apart Tuesday morning.

The 53-man roster

The Giants' roster page listed 52 players on the active roster Tuesday. Jameis Winston was the only quarterback among them. Jaxson Dart went on injured reserve Sept. 24.

Haener was signed from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Sept. 26, backed up Winston in Sunday's 12-7 win over Tennessee, and was waived Monday. No claim or clearance had been listed on the NFL.com waiver wire by late Tuesday morning. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported Monday that Haener would return to the practice squad once he cleared. Giants coach John Harbaugh said at his news conference Monday that Winston remains the starter and that the backup job is open. "It could be Jake or it could be J.J.," he said.

Play video: Giants coach John Harbaugh's news conference on Monday, Sept. 28, on the J.J. McCarthy trade and Brian Burns' injury.

Brian Burns was still on the active roster Tuesday. Harbaugh said Monday that Burns tore his ACL in the fourth quarter against Tennessee and will have surgery. No injured reserve move had been listed on giants.com or the NFL.com wire, so his roster spot has not opened.

Practice squad

The roster page listed 16 players on the practice squad, with no quarterback. That total includes offensive lineman Jarrod Gray, an International Pathway signing; teams can carry 17 when one of them is an International Pathway player.

Wide receiver Braxton Berrios and linebacker Malik Harrison are back on the practice squad after being elevated for Sunday's game. It was the third elevation this season for each, after Sept. 12 and Sept. 21. A practice-squad player can be elevated three times a season. To use either again, the Giants would have to sign him to the 53-man roster.

The 2027 draft capital

The Giants have traded two of their own 2027 picks and agreed to send a third, the fifth-rounder, to Minnesota in the McCarthy deal, which is pending a physical. Once that trade is final, they will hold five selections in 2027, or six if the condition on the seventh-round pick sent to Miami in the Waller trade was not met; the condition has not been made public. That count does not include compensatory picks, which are awarded in the spring.

The Giants host Arizona on Sunday, Oct. 4.