Let’s be honest: New York football fans are having a rough go of it this year. The New York Giants and New York Jets are locked in a battle for which franchise can be more dysfunctional, and it’s closer than anyone wants to admit.
The Jets have been a comedy of errors under owner Woody Johnson, with recent reports claiming he vetoed a trade for Jerry Jeudy based on Madden ratings. Yes, Madden ratings. Meanwhile, the Giants have their own mess to reckon with—most notably John Mara’s decision to greenlight Daniel Jones’ four-year, $160 million contract back in March of 2023.
If only Mara had consulted Madden, maybe Big Blue wouldn’t be in this situation. Jones entered the 2024 season with a 75 overall rating in Madden NFL 24, ranking him 21st among quarterbacks. $40 million for a 75 overall player is insanity.
Jones' ranking was tied with Matthew Stafford and barely ahead of Baker Mayfield. While he's in great company, ranking 21st in positional ratings is not exactly the franchise cornerstone you'd want to break the bank for.
John Mara and Woody Johnson keep one-upping each other
Let’s not let Woody Johnson off the hook here. The idea of nixing a trade because Jeudy’s Madden rating wasn’t high enough is next-level absurd.
But Mara’s decision to double down on Jones after one decent season might be even worse. At least Madden ratings aren’t entirely subjective—they’re based on measurable performance metrics. Mara, on the other hand, banked on “gut feel” and a prayer that Jones could repeat his 2022 campaign, where he threw for a whopping 15 touchdowns.
The result? Jones played six games in the 2023 season, threw two touchdowns, and six interceptions. This season, he went 2-8 as the starter, was benched in favor of Tommy DeVito, and played scout-team safety before being released this year. That $160 million deal? It’s now one of the most baffling decisions in Giants' history.
Meanwhile, the Jets at least managed to salvage something by trading for Davante Adams after the Jeudy debacle. Sure, their 4-10 record is embarrassing, but the Giants aren’t much better at 2-12—and they don’t even have an Aaron Rodgers injury to pin it on.
Here’s the real kicker: Madden might’ve actually been helpful in these scenarios. The Giants could’ve taken one look at Jones’ 87 throw power and 82 deep accuracy ratings and realized they were throwing money at a quarterback with limitations that no amount of wishful thinking could fix. Instead, Mara made the kind of emotional, loyalty-driven call that leaves teams stuck in mediocrity for years.
Jets fans can laugh at Woody’s Madden-inspired meddling all they want, but at least his blunders didn’t cost $160 million.
Giants fans?
They’re stuck wondering what could’ve been—if only their owner had picked up a controller first. Woody Johnson has given John Mara the perfect blueprint for future franchise-altering decisions.