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.
Cornerback
Average Salary Per Year
Guaranteed money
Date Signed
Sauce Gardner
$30.1 million
$85.653 million
July 15, 2025
Derek Stingley Jr.
$30 million
$89 million
March 17, 2025
Jaycee Horn
$25 million
$70 million
March 10, 2025
Jalen Ramsey
$24.1 million
$55.3 million
Sep. 6, 2024
Patrick Surtain
$24 million
$77.5 million
Sep. 4, 2024
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.
