The $45 million reasons Giants’ Daniel Jones talks started bumpy

Negotiations with Daniel Jones have gotten off to a “much bumpier start than expected,” according to The Post’s Ryan Dunleavy, and there could be a few reasons for that.

Perhaps $45 million worth of them.

According to ProFootballTalk, the Giants’ 25-year-old quarterback “wants more than the Giants have offered” — up to as much as $45 million per year “or more.” Jones, who recently switched agents from CAA to Athletes First, is poised to enter free agency after the Giants declined his fifth-year option in April.

Jones’ stock rose after he engineered the best season of his career in 2022. He threw for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns and just five interceptions, while also rushing for another 708 yards and seven touchdowns. The Giants finished 9-7-1 in Brian Daboll’s first season, and the head coach-quarterback duo of Daboll and Jones led the franchise to its first postseason win since February 2012 with a victory over the Vikings in the NFC wild-card round.

The passing yards and rushing yards were both career-highs. The interception total was a career-best, too. Jones was lauded for his improvements by Giants’ leadership — from Daboll to general manager Joe Schoen to co-owner John Mara — and instantly became a key piece of the team’s desired future just months after it appeared 2022 could be his final year with New York.

That performance made Jones’ looming free agency even more difficult to dissect. The Post’s Paul Schwartz reported that a five-year, $190 million deal was within the team’s “ballpark,” which would average out to $38 million per year. But if the Giants and Jones can’t reach an agreement on a multi-year contract, the team could use the $32.4 million franchise tag.

Dunleavy reported that the franchise tag is “very much in play” given the rocky introduction to Jones’ negotiations. The team also has to weigh how to balance navigating deals for Jones and star running back Saquon Barkley at the same time.

And with Jones’ rising price tag, as well as the agent switch, the window to use the franchise tag between Feb. 21 and March 7 becomes a pivotal one if a long-term deal doesn’t seem like it will materialize at this stage.