Report: Jets' offer to Fitzpatrick was 3 years, $24 million

With the Ryan Fitzpatrick contract situation at a standstill, new information is emerging about the particulars of a deal offered by the New York Jets.

After reports of a three-year deal - with the first season worth $12 million - emerged Friday, the total value of the contract has come to light.

According to multiple reports, the Jets offered Fitzpatrick a three-year contract worth $24 million total. Fitzpatrick would get $12 million in year one, and $6 million each season after that.

The particulars of the contract offer some insight into why Fitzpatrick wouldn't accept the offer. While $12 million in the first year seems reasonable, the final two years give a strong indication the Jets plan to use him as a backup after 2016.

Furthermore, the $8 million average annual salary would make Fitzpatrick the lowest paid starting quarterback aside from Tyrod Taylor and players still on their rookie deals.

For a player trying to cash in on a career season in which he threw for 3,905 yards and 31 touchdowns, getting paid backup money over the final two seasons of a contract with no incentives built in is understandably not ideal.

Perhaps the Jets and Fitzpatrick will have to compromise on a one-year deal that pays the Harvard man a salary commensurate with his production.