NY Jets not expected to extend Marcus Maye before deadline

Justin Fried

NY Jets, Marcus Maye / Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The NY Jets remain embroiled in contract talks with star safety Marcus Maye. However, the latest report suggests that those talks seem to have stalled — perhaps permanently.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Tuesday that "no deal is expected" between the two sides before Thursday's deadline. It seems likely that Maye will play the 2021 season on the franchise tag.

Rapoport said that the Jets have not responded to Maye's latest offer and that said offer has been "pulled from the table."

According to Rapoport, "negotiations went south" about two weeks before the tag deadline when the Jets offered Maye a contract with an average salary of roughly 20 percent below the franchise tag for 2021.

That means the Jets likely offered Maye a contract with an APY of around $8.5 million — substantially lower than the price tag he is reportedly looking for.

Don't expect the NY Jets to extend Marcus Maye anytime soon — if at all.

Rapoport's report also states that Maye had "significantly more in APY and guarantees from multiple teams heading into free agency."

Maye is likely looking for a contract somewhere in the range of $12-14 million per season which would pay him among the top players at his position.

Six safeties are currently on contracts with an APY of $14 million per season or higher. The Jets offering Maye roughly $8.5 million APY would make him the 16th highest-paid safety in the NFL.

Obviously, that isn't a deal that Maye is going to agree to. Not even close.

From the Jets perspective, they aren't looking to pay a soon-to-be 29-year-old safety on a long-term deal. This is despite general manager Joe Douglas' repeated insistence that extending Maye this offseason remained a "priority" for the team.

But from Maye's perspective, he played like a top-five player at his position last season, received All-Pro votes, and has been a model teammate and locker room leader.

He deserves to get his money. And he will — only it's looking less and less likely that it's from the Jets.

The two sides can revisit extension talks next offseason if they don't get a deal done by the deadline. But for now, it does appear as though Marcus Maye's time in New York might be coming to an end sooner rather than later.

Justin Fried

Justin Fried is an editor for FanSided who has over seven years of experience covering the NFL and various other sports. A diehard Jets fan since birth, Justin has served as the editor for The Jet Press since 2019, interviewing athletes such as Sauce Gardner, Curtis Martin, LaDainian Tomlinson, Joe Klecko, and many others. Justin has also worked closely with brands like Red Bull to help highlight the niche sectors of the sporting world. His four-part series on the sport of breaking remains one of his proudest pieces of work. In his spare time, Justin is an avid pro wrestling fan who is fortunate enough to have traveled to nearly 30 different countries.