Winston Extension Should Lower Giants' Cap Number, but No One Has the Figure Yet
Giants extended Jameis Winston two years, $13M, through 2028, to create cap room, but no reporter or tracker has published his new 2026 cap number, and both trackers still show the team over the cap.
The Giants agreed to a two-year, $13 million extension with Jameis Winston on Sunday, a deal that keeps Jaxson Dart's backup under contract through 2028 and, once it is on the books, should lower his $5 million cap number for this season. By how much is unknown. As of Monday afternoon, no reporter, outlet or cap tracker has published Winston's new 2026 cap number, base salary, signing bonus or guarantees, and the Giants remain over the cap on both major trackers.
Jordan Schultz broke the news on X at 3:42 p.m. ET Sunday, writing that the deal was “done by @WinSportsGroup.” ESPN's Jordan Raanan, The Athletic's Charlotte Carroll and Dan Duggan, the AP's Stephen Whyno and the New York Post's Ryan Dunleavy each confirmed it independently through their own sources.
Winston signed a two-year, $8 million contract in March 2025, which made 2026 his walk year. The extension does not replace that deal; it adds two years to it. Dunleavy spelled it out at 4 p.m.: “Jameis Winston's 2 year extension adds onto this year. Instead of being in his walk year, he will be under contract through 2028.” Fourteen minutes earlier he had posted the reason: “This will open needed cap space.”
Winston's current 2026 cap number is $5 million: a $3.95 million base salary, $1 million in bonus proration and a $50,000 workout bonus. Adding years to the contract lets the Giants convert salary into bonus money and spread it across 2027 and 2028, which drops the current-year charge. How far it drops depends on how much of the new money is guaranteed and how it is allocated — and none of that has been reported.
Over The Cap listed the Giants on Monday at $1,179,917 over the cap, with Winston still at $5 million and the extension not processed. Spotrac had them $953,427 over; the only movement since Sunday was an unrelated $42,269 dead-money entry for Art Green. Spotrac's Winston page now shows a 2026-28 extension shell at two years and $13 million, but the 2026 line is labeled “ESTIMATE,” and the site's footnote says contract specifics are “generally collected from verified reports.” The two sites differ by about $226,000, and neither reflects the new deal.
ProFootballRumors' Nikhil Mehta ran one scenario: converting Winston's $3.95 million salary to the veteran minimum and adding three void years “could clear as much as $2.12MM.” That is a projection, not a report. Giants Wire's Kevin Hickey described the deal as “worth up to $13 million” and wrote, “The details of the contract have yet to be released as of this writing, but this should alleviate some salary-cap concerns to begin the campaign.”
The Giants' other Sunday deal is in the same spot. Jon Runyan Jr. agreed to a two-year, $22 million extension with $21.5 million guaranteed, first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter, citing Runyan's agents. The Athletic noted Runyan “had a $9 million base salary this year in his previous contract, so the Giants should be able to lower that and create some immediate cap savings.” His new 2026 number has not been reported either.
The team has not announced either deal. Its Giants.com transaction log was last updated Sept. 3. Winston posted a photo of MetLife Stadium on X on Sunday evening with the caption “See y'all in 7 days” and no contract details. John Harbaugh and Dart have not commented.
The opener against Dallas at MetLife is next Sunday. Until the new deal is processed, Winston's cap number stays at $5 million on both trackers.