New York Jets owner Woody Johnson just received a wild reality check for chasing quarterbacks with big names and even bigger contracts. What looked like a bold reset with Justin Fields now looks like a move haunted by the ghost of Aaron Rodgers and budget decisions that follow him around the league.​  

Gang Green is staring down a $22 million dead cap bill if they cut quarterback Justin Fields before June 1 next year. That’s money washed down the drain for a guy who’s barely managed to keep the offense on life support. 

Fields signed a two-year, $40 million contract. It came loaded with a $15 million signing bonus and $30 million guaranteed.​ Break down the math, and it gets uglier. 

Fields is on the books for a $5 million base salary in 2025, along with a $15 million bonus and a workout bonus that barely moves the needle. His cap hit next year lands at $8 million. But if the Jets bail early, that $22 million dead cap hit hits like a brick. 

Post-June 1, they can spread the pain, $13 million in 2025 and $10 million in 2026, but it doesn’t make the medicine any easier to swallow. And obviously, the numbers would sting less if Fields had set the league on fire.

If you trace Fields’ path from Chicago to Pittsburgh to New York, his five seasons are what most would label as underwhelming. As a rookie with the Chicago Bears in 2021, he went 2-8 as a starter.

The next two seasons offered more playing time but few more wins, with records of 3-12 and 5-8. His short stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers showed some hope (4-2 record), but again, the clock ran out before he could take charge. 

Now, he’s been benched in New York for Tyrod Taylor, after a disappointing performance this year. So far, he’s started 9 games, going 2-7, throwing for 1,259 yards, 7 touchdowns, and getting sacked 27 times. 

Last week’s outing against the New England Patriots was the latest dud. Fields managed just 116 yards through the air. That performance sealed his fate and sent Taylor to the top of the depth chart for Week 12, a swap that sums up the constant churn under Woody Johnson’s watch.​

With all these problems, Woody Johnson has no choice but to look forward to next year. But the ghost of Aaron Rodgers isn’t letting them off easy.

Aaron Rodgers’ shadow looms large

When the New York Jets released Rodgers this offseason, they bought themselves short-term relief and long-term anguish. A-Rod, now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, will still cost the Jets a $35 million dead cap hit in 2026, all thanks to the way his contract was structured.​

Put Fields and Rodgers together, and the math gets even more insane. Woody Johnson finds himself staring down a jaw-dropping $57 million dead cap charge in 2026. That’s money tied up in quarterbacks no longer suiting up at MetLife Stadium. 

That number is dwarfing much of the Jets’ available cap space. And squeezing out options for bringing in new talent, retaining their stars, or escaping the cycle of quarterback purgatory. The Jets have solid $99 million cap space listed for 2026. But with almost $214 million in liabilities, cap headaches are here to stay.

Even when you peek ahead to the Jets’ 2026 draft picks, owners like Johnson find slim consolation. The team still holds its first, second, and fourth-round selections in next year’s draft. So at least some hope bubbles beneath the surface.

At the end of the day, the Jets are stuck paying for tough QB decisions. Woody Johnson’s team keeps spinning its wheels, caught between old contracts and new hopes. Rodgers is gone, Fields might be next, but the bills keep coming.