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Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Following his rookie season, it seemed all Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels needed to do was stay healthy and keep performing at that level or close to it for the next 2 years to land 1 of the largest contracts in NFL history.

After things went off the rails due to poor play and injuries in 2025, nothing is guaranteed for Daniels’ future moving forward, even though he’s eligible for a contract extension following this season.

However, if Daniels does somehow right the ship in 2026, a loophole in the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement could get him paid sooner than people think.

If Daniels reaches a Pro Bowl level again and lifts the Commanders back into the playoffs, he could follow the lead of the player picked 1 spot ahead of him in the 2024 NFL draft — Chicago Bears quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams — and sign a deal immediately after Washington hosts the Dallas Cowboys in Week 18.

“We’ve already heard talk of Williams having expectations that would be more than eye-popping,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wrote on June 14. “And we also expect that Williams will make it known that he wants his contract not after the 2026 postseason ends, but promptly upon the opening of the window for a new deal after the Bears face the Vikings in Week 18. Why carry the injury risk into the 2026 postseason? No quarterback on his rookie deal has tried to do that, even though the CBA wrinkle has been hiding in plain sight since 2011.”

Daniels is entering the 3rd season of the 4-year, $37.7 million rookie contract he signed in 2024.

Daniels’ Focus Should Be On Winning Games

There’s a good chance, even if Daniels tanks again in 2026, he still ends up with a contract extension from the Commanders — not just the gold-plated deals both he and Williams could land if their teams perform well.

“Like Williams, Daniels becomes eligible for a new deal after the 2026 regular season,” Florio wrote. “His main goal should be to reestablish himself after a disappointing and injury-plagued second season, during which he played only seven of 17 games. If Daniels returns to his rookie form, he’ll be joining Williams as a quarterback looking for a second contract.”

For Williams and Daniels, those deals could very well be in the range of the 1 just signed by 2-time NFL MVP and 3-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who became the highest-paid player in NFL history at $64 million per season when he signed an 8-year, $504.75 million restructured contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs on June 10.

Daniels Called ‘Biggest Disappointment’ in 2025

Daniels’ 2025 struggles were on display early in the season, and it’s impossible to point to any single game as saying he did well or played well as the Commanders stumbled to a 5-12 finish just 1 season after going 12-5 and advancing to the NFC Championship Game.

Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon warned the Commanders against a possible “Nightmare Scenario” in 2026 with Daniels, similar to what the Houston Texans have experienced with 2023 No. 2 overall pick C.J. Stroud.

“(The nightmare scenario) for the Commanders is Jayden Daniels pulls a C.J. Stroud with back-to-back disappointing seasons following an Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign as the Commanders fall well short of the playoffs again,” Gagnon wrote.