Jets armored the backbone of the team: Historic contract for Sauce Gardner

The cornerback of the New York Jets, Sauce Gardner, signed a new four-year contract worth as much as 120.4 million dollars, which is a record for the cornerback position in the NFL league. This news came right after the Jets extended cooperation with their main wide receiver Garrett Wilson.

According to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, as much as $85 million of the total contract is guaranteed, which shows how much the franchise believes in the talent and potential of the 22-year-old defender.

The two-time All-Pro is now the highest-paid cornerback in league history at an impressive $30.1 million in average annual earnings, surpassing Houston Texans star Derek Stingley Jr., who signed a three-year, $90 million contract in March.

Prior to this new deal, Gardner was still under an entry-level contract, which includes a fifth-year option in 2026, with $20.2 million guaranteed.

With this move, the Jets secured the future of their defensive backbone until 2030. Sauce and Wilson are the first tandem of first-round picks from the same team to receive new contracts after three seasons, under the rules of the NFL's financial system established in 2011.

Gardner is the first Jets player since linebacker C.J. Mosley, who became the highest paid in the league in his position. In 2019, Mosley signed a five-year contract worth $85 million.

Awards

The impressive defender left a strong mark from his first appearance, winning the award for the best defensive rookie in the 2022-23 season. Most notably, he is the only cornerback since the NFL and AFL merged in 1970 to be named to the league's All-Star Team in the first two seasons.

Among defenders, only Lawrence Taylor and Micah Parsons can boast such an achievement, which further confirms how special a talent Sauce is.

The fans have huge expectations from him in the future, and there is no doubt that he will represent the backbone of the team with abundant ambitions in the coming years.

The New York Jets have shown how ambitious they are at this moment, but it seems that they will make many more interesting moves.