There's a new highest-paid cornerback in the NFL: Sauce Gardner.
The New York Jets agreed to sign Gardner to a four-year, $120.4 million extension on Tuesday, signing him one day after they made wide receiver Garrett Wilson a top-five highest-paid receiver.
Gardner just tops fellow 2022 draft class member Derek Stingley Jr. as the highest-paid corner in the league. Stingley, who was taken one pick ahead of Gardner in the draft, will make an average of $30 million of a year, while Gardner will see $30.1 million each year on his new extension.
Here's a look at the top-five highest-paid cornerbacks in the league on a per-year basis after Gardner's extension.
Though Gardner tops Stingley in average salary per year, Stingley does have the edge in total guarantees. Stingley signed a three-year $90 million deal with Houston, and a massive $89 million of that is guaranteed.
Gardner and Stingley are far and away the highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL at the moment. The Houston Texans raised the cornerback market significantly with Stingley's contract, making him the first corner ever to average $30 million per year. This is a massive jump from Jaycee Horn, who, a week before Stingley's deal, briefly became the highest-paid corner by signing a deal worth $25 million per year.
Stingley and Gardner's extensions are also a big leap from the extensions Jalen Ramsey and Patrick Surtain signed right before the 2024 season. Surtain became the highest-paid corner for just a couple days when he agreed to a deal worth $24 million per year, and Ramsey signed for a little above that amount later that week. Less than a year later, Gardner and Stingley have signed for about $6 million more per year. Surtain's contract now looks like a steal after he went on to win Defensive Player of the Year this past season.
The cornerback market has come a long way, especially when considering six years ago in 2019, the highest-paid corner was Xavien Howard at $15.1 million per year. Gardner and Stingley have nearly doubled that salary, and quickly at that.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Updated List of NFL's Five Highest-Paid Cornerbacks After Sauce Gardner's Extension.
