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The New York Jets pulled a page from the blockbuster trade that shook the NBA landscape last season. Gang Green traded franchise cornerstone Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts ahead of the 2025 NFL trade deadline for a seismic haul that featured multiple first-round draft choices. ESPN’s Rich Cimini revealed on the “Flight Deck” podcast that the Colts “were the only team involved” and said the Jets were not “actively shopping” Gardner to the rest of the league. Those were the same tentacles of the blockbuster trade in the NBA between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers for Luka Dončić. ESPN revealed that it was a “direct process” between the two teams. “Executives from around the league were both furious and jealous that the glitzy, star-driven Lakers had been the only team given an opportunity to bid for Doncic’s services,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon wrote. Details Behind How the Jets-Colts Trade Came Together A phone call between assistant Colts general manager Ed Dodds and Jets GM Darren Mougey a few weeks ago opened the door. Mougey told Dodds that they were willing to listen to trade offers for anyone on their defense, NFL Insider Albert Breer revealed in a long-form piece for Sports Illustrated. With Indianapolis having injuries in the secondary, it piqued their interest in acquiring a player who could help them in both the short and long term. Colts general manager Chris Ballard followed up after Dodds and Mougey spoke to reiterate the team’s interest in a potential deal and to get a sense of what it would cost. “The Colts’ impression was that the Jets were looking for the return the franchise got in its trade of Jamal Adams to Seattle five years ago. That return—two first-rounders, a 2021 third-rounder, and a starter (Bradley McDougald) for Adams and a ’22 fourth-rounder—was a little more than what Dallas got back for Parsons. But the trade comps were close enough for the teams to continue their dialogue,” Breer explained. The Secret Password in This Trade Was Trust Things started getting serious between the Colts and Jets. This wasn’t just random flirtation ahead of the trade deadline; this was getting real. General manager Darren Mougey explained in his post-deadline presser that the Colts kept getting more aggressive with their offer. “When it came down to the last few days, Indianapolis kept getting richer and richer with their value, and eventually, like I said was too good to pass up,” Mougey explained. However, as the two sides were negotiating, there was a catch. “The Gardner deal’s survival hinged primarily on trust. As Mougey’s discussions with Indy evolved over the past four weeks, a key for New York was that the Colts keep their interest in Gardner, and the Jets’ interest in a trade, quiet as could be,” Breer explained. “That meant, in the Colts’ building, everyone was on a need-to-know basis. There was broad-strokes discussion on Gardner in meetings, but only Ballard, Dodds, coach Shane Steichen and ownership knew how real the possibility of landing him was,” Breer added. That once again connects the Jets and Colts to what transpired in the NBA between the Mavs and the Lakers. “[Mavs GM Nico] Harrison decided early on, team sources said, that the best way to trade a player of Doncic’s caliber was to pick the trade that he wanted, rather than open up the process, to avoid Doncic and his agent exerting their own leverage. It would also avoid the crippling fan backlash that might influence the deal,” Shelburne and MacMahon wrote for ESPN. “Pelinka and the Lakers understood. Nothing could leak. Not a breath of it.” The Major Difference Between the Lakers-Mavs and Jets-Colts Situations The public perception of the shocking Dončić trade was that the Mavericks didn’t get enough back for trading away a transcendent star. Perhaps if they had opened up the negotiating to the rest of the league, they could have received a better haul. In the Jets’ case, they have received universal praise for the haul they got back. Despite only negotiating with one team during these trade talks. ESPN’s Seth Walder gave the Jets an “A” grade for the return haul on Gardner. “Wow. Only four months after inking Gardner to a lucrative extension, the Jets sent him to the Colts in a shocking move. And you know what? They were absolutely right to do so,” Walder argued. “This was a home run for the Jets, considering the four-year, $120.4 million contract Gardner was on and the compensation they received — two first-round picks and Mitchell, a second-round pick a year ago.” The Jets executed the Dončić NBA trade in the NFL with a lot less drama and fewer angry fans. They negotiated with only one team, they kept it a secret, and they received a franchise-altering haul. Whether it all works out for the Jets is still very much to be determined. However, there is hope for the future for the green and white.
