Sauce Gardner isn’t eligible to sign a contract extension with the New York Jets until next offseason according to the CBA.
However, when we get to the next offseason, Gardner is expected to get the bag.
Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report projected new contracts for players who “should be the highest paid” at their position. In that column, he explained why it is inevitable that Gardner becomes the next top-paid corner in the league.
“We’ll highlight the 23-year-old with the anticipation that he will become the highest-paid cornerback sometime next year. Gardner is the first CB since the AFL/NFL merger to earn All-Pro honors in his first two seasons,” Moton revealed. “If Gardner continues to play at this level in the upcoming campaign, he’s going to get a massive salary raise.”
Moton projects Gardner to sign a new five-year deal next offseason for $110 million with $75 million of that guaranteed.
A Historic Pay Raise Is on the Horizon for Gardner
That projected pay raise by Moton would make Gardner the new highest-paid corner in football. The $22 million annual salary would just edge Jaire Alexander of the Green Bay Packers who currently holds the top spot at $21 million per year, per Over The Cap.
Not only would the Gardner deal set new league records, but it would also reset several team records.
Quinnen Williams became the highest-paid player in Jets franchise history last offseason. He signed a $96 million extension across four years. That set a new team record from a total value, per year ($24 million), and total guarantees ($66 million) standpoint.
However, in these projections, Gardner would top two of those with total value ($110 million) and total guarantees ($75 million).
The exciting part is Gardner is only 23 years of age and he is already this good. By the time the former Cincinnati product is contract extension eligible he will only be 24 years of age.
The Only Real Criticism of Gardner’s Game With the Jets
Sauce has been better than the Jets could have hoped for when they invested the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft to select him.
However, if you were to poke holes in his game, the one area people have gravitated to is his lack of turnovers.
Across his first two seasons, Gardner only has two career interceptions. Both of those came during his rookie campaign in 2022.
“Retired cornerback Asante Samuel Sr. used [that] stat for his argument against recognizing the Jets defender as an All-Pro or Pro Bowl cornerback in 2023. However, Gardner led the NFL in pass breakups in his rookie year, and he’s allowed a passer rating of 80.3 or below and a completion rate of 56.4 percent or less in both of his seasons,” Moton explained. “While skeptics can nitpick his lack of takeaways, no other NFL cornerback has been more accomplished than him in a short period. He seems well on his way to a decorated career.”
In fairness, Gardner hasn’t had many opportunities to create turnovers because teams have shied away from throwing the ball in his general direction.
According to Pro Football Focus, Gardner was only targeted 51 times this past season which was tied for No. 81 in the NFL.
However, if Gardner wants to reach another level he will have to maximize the opportunities that do come his way and make opposing offenses pay for throwing the ball his way.
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