First came wide receiver Garrett Wilson. Now, cornerback Sauce Gardner. The New York Jets and Gardner agreed to a contract extension Tuesday that will make him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL — and in NFL history. The four-year deal is worth $120.4 million in total, according to league sources.
The Jets’ 2022 draft class might go down as the greatest in team history. Or at least the most prolific. Four years in, their two biggest stars from that class are already locked into lucrative, long-term contracts with an organization that historically hasn’t done those types of deals for players who are still on their rookie contracts.
Here’s the new deal for Sauce Gardner:
4-year, $120.4M deal, $30.1M per year, per sources.
He is the highest paid corner in the history of the NFL .
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) July 15, 2025
Wilson signed his own extension (four years for $130 million) on Monday, which made him the fifth-highest paid receiver in terms of average annual salary. Gardner, who turns 25 in August, was always going to follow — and top his position group. That’s what happens when you get off to a historic start to your career, as Gardner has for the Jets. He was voted a first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler in each of his first two NFL seasons, one of only three defensive players to accomplish such a feat (the others: Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons and NFL legend Lawrence Taylor).
Gardner didn’t play up to that level in 2024 and, in turn, was roundly criticized; he didn’t record any interceptions and he struggled in terms of tackling. It was still a good season, but not up to the massive expectations his first two years had created. Pro Football Focus had him graded 17th among cornerbacks in terms of coverage, and he had the second-best rate of snaps per reception (17.7) among cornerbacks to play at least 400 coverage snaps. He was sixth in terms of snaps per target (9.4) and eighth in forced incompletions (12).
Gardner will have more opportunities to make plays on the ball in the Jets’ new defense under head coach Aaron Glenn — a former Pro Bowl cornerback himself — and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. It’s expected to be a blitz-heavy scheme and Gardner will have more opportunities to play in man coverage and potentially travel with the other team’s best wide receiver, which the previous coaching staff mostly avoided.
“I always thank them every single day because they put me in a position to make plays,” Gardner said.
Now he’ll be making plays for the Jets for a long time.
(Photo: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)
