Darius Slayton had to take a pay cut to stay on the New York Giants’ roster last year. This year, the Giants were willing to agree to a two-year, $12 million contract to keep him there.

The former Auburn wide receiver has led the Giants in receiving yards in three of his four seasons in the NFL. In 2022, Slayton had 46 receptions for 724 yards and two touchdowns.

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After Slayton had 26 receptions for 339 yards and two touchdowns in 2021, the Giants offered to keep him on the team if he agreed to play at a reduced salary. Otherwise, he would be released after New York tried to beef up its wide-receiver corps through free agency and the draft.

Slayton’s play in his first three seasons had qualified him for a proven performance escalator, an NFL program that boosts the pay in the final season of the rookie contracts of players drafted in the second through seventh rounds who have outperformed their original deals.

But instead of the $2.54 million that Slayton was supposed to be paid in the final season of his four-year rookie contract, he played in 2022 for the veteran minimum of $965,000.

Slayton became an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday afternoon but has reached an agreement to stay with New York on a two-season deal.

The Giants obtained Slayton in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft after he had 79 receptions for 1,605 yards and 11 touchdowns in three seasons for Auburn.

Slayton spent most of his first training camp sidelined by hamstring injuries, then led New York with 740 yards on 48 receptions with eight touchdowns as a rookie. He led the Giants in receiving yards again in 2020 with 751 on 50 catches with three touchdowns.

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In 2021, Slayton missed four games, and while his stats dipped with his playing time, he still was the only New York wide receiver with more than one TD reception.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.