The New York Jets have officially announced that they have signed first-round pick Sauce Gardner to a contract, making him the team’s quickest first-round pick to sign a deal in the past four decades.
According to Rich Cimini of ESPN, Gardner will receive a signing bonus of $25.3 million as part of his fully guaranteed, four-year rookie contract that has a total value of $38.7 million.
He wins the championship by a narrow margin over Leonard Williams, who was selected first overall in 2015. This week, “Sauce” performed in full in the rookie minicamp, and he should be the starting cornerback on day one in the Big Apple.
Gardner was named to the first-team All-American Conference in 2021 in addition to being named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year and a three-time first-team All-American Conference pick.
Throughout his whole stint with the Bearcats, which consisted of three years, he did not allow a single receiving touchdown to be scored.
Gardner is the first defensive back to come out of Cincinnati to be taken in the first round of the draft. Additionally, he is the first player from Cincinnati to be selected in the first round since defensive tackle Bob Bell, who was taken by the Detroit Lions in 1971.
Gardner became the player with the highest draft position in Cincinnati school history, surpassing quarterback Greg Cook, who was chosen by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1969 as the fifth overall pick.
How Much Does Sauce Gardner Make?
Ahmad Gardner makes an average of $8,362,700 per year. Gardner’s base salary in 2022 will be $705,000, and he will get a signing bonus of $21,507,856. His cap hit will be $6,081,964.