“That Sauce Gardner contract finna be crazy” - NFL fans hype up Jets star after Derek Stingley Jr. gets $90,000,000 from Texans

Derek Stingley Jr. is the new benchmark for cornerback contracts. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that Stingley Jr.’s new contract is an average of $30 million annually for three years, and includes $89 million of the $90 million guaranteed.

Stingley Jr.’s new average annual value surpassed Carolina Panthers' Jaycee Horn, who signed a four-year $100 million contract extension last week. Reactions among NFL fans varied. Several fans turned their attention to New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner, who is due a contract extension as he heads into year four of his rookie contract.

“Also that Sauce Gardner contract finna be crazy,” one fan said.

“Interesting to see what CB Sauce Gardner and Trent McDuffie get after the numbers Derek Stingley Jr got. The CB are finally getting their true value and worth,” another fan said.

Others also mentioned Gardner and the Jets:

"This is what happens when you wait to extend your players - even by a couple of weeks," another surmised. "Perhaps Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson would have always gotten around $30 million per year. That may not have been the case, though. Now, with the Tee Higgins and Derek Stingley deal, it’s a pretty safe bet BOTH players will get that.”

“As the best corner in the league, Sauce Gardner is cheesing HARD at this news,” one fan commented.

“I’d love to learn the logic behind why $1 million of the $90 million is not guaranteed lol,” one fan said.

Not everyone was a fan of the contract:

“For a corner? This is outrageous. It goes to show precisely why the #Texans (and their fans) have been a stain on the NFL since their inception,” one fan said.

Stingley Jr. and Gardner will have their careers compared with each other for a long time. They were drafted with back-to-back picks in the 2022 NFL draft, and both have become top cornerbacks in the NFL.

Derek Stingley Jr. gets rewarded for being one of the league’s top cornerbacks

Derek Stingley Jr. has been one of the league’s top cornerbacks since being drafted third overall by the Houston Texans in 2022. Last season was his best as he snagged five interceptions and 18 pass breakups en route to an all-pro season, his first in the NFL.

His defensive prowess guided the Texans to having the sixth-best defense in passing yards allowed, and he was consistently tasked to guard the opposing team’s top wide receivers.