NFL contracts have changed a lot over the past decade, especially for the top players at each position.

When someone gets a record-setting contract, it seems like the next one to get a massive extension wants to make more than the previous deal.

Some of these negotiations have been fruitful, mainly with the top quarterbacks, but players at other positions haven’t been so lucky.

It is easy to justify the value of a top QB, but the same can’t always be said for players on defense.

However, when a player is as good as Sauce Gardner, it’s easy to see how much he brings to the New York Jets.

With that in mind, many around the league are surprised that the cornerback hasn’t gotten a contract extension yet, especially after the Houston Texans already extended Derek Stingley Jr., who was taken one pick ahead of Gardner in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Fellow defensive back Darius Slay recently commented on this, indicating that it’s a bad move on the Jets’ part that they have yet to give Gardner a new deal.

“Man Houston done did right by their star CB, [why] the h*** the Jets taking so long to pay Sauce. He’s a top dawg that earned his money!” Slay wrote, via JPAFootball.

𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: #Steelers CB Darius Slay is wondering what’s taking the #Jets so long to pay their young star corner Sauce Gardner.

“Man Houston done did right by their star CB, y the hell the jets taking so long to pay sauce he’s a top dawg that earned his money!” pic.twitter.com/PzalPySAn6

— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) June 30, 2025

Stingley received an almost fully guaranteed three-year contract worth $90 million.

It’s undetermined if Gardner is frustrated with the Jets, but considering the landscape of the NFL, he’s likely not pleased with the situation.

He will command top dollar if he does get a contract extension, and it could be another record-setting deal when all is said and done.

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