JULY 17: Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes Gardner’s locked in compensation includes a $13.75MM signing bonus along with annual workout and roster bonuses (many of which are guaranteed upfront or are set to vest one year early). His base salaries in 2025 ($1.25MM) and ’26 ($5.25MM) are locked in. A $20MM 2026 option bonus is included and is guaranteed in full; the 2027 option bonus ($10MM) is guaranteed for injury and shifts to a full guarantee one year early. The same is true of Gardner’s base salaries for 2027 ($13.95MM) and ’28 ($19.2MM). His pay for the final two years of the pact is not guaranteed.
JULY 15: One day after extending star wide receiver Garrett Wilson, the Jets are signing All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner to a four-year, $120.4MM contract extension, per Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo, and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Gardner himself announced on social media that an agreement had been reached. His deal has the same structure as Wilson’s extension, per Schefter.
With a $30.1MM AAV, Gardner is now the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL, beating out the $30MM per year deal signed by fellow 2022 first-rounder Derek Stingley Jr. earlier this year. However, Gardner’s $85.653MM in total guarantees (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter) do not quite reach Stingley’s $89MM.
It will be interesting to see where the full guarantees fall here; Stingley holds that standard — with $48MM — as well. Gardner agreeing to a four-year deal should allow him to eclipse that number, as Stingley is tied to a three-year extension.
The Jets have now spent $250MM in the last two days to lock down cornerstone players on both sides of the ball in a solid start for new head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey. Past offseasons in New York have been marked by quarterback drama and contract standoffs with key veterans, but the new regime avoided such pitfalls by signing Justin Fields early in free agency and getting the Wilson and Gardner extensions done before training camp.
Mougey has now been part of two record-setting cornerback extensions since September. The former Broncos assistant GM was in place when the team inked Patrick Surtain on a then-record $24MM-per-year deal. Despite Surtain’s Defensive Player of the Year season, he has already fallen to fifth in the cornerback pecking order. This effectively illustrates timing, rather than merit, reigns in NFL contract matters. Gardner and Stingley do owe Surtain for breaking…