With all the recent focus on whether the Jets will keep their oldest player, the question of whether and when they’ll extend the contracts of two of their best young players has been overlooked.
Cornerback Sauce Gardner and receiver Garrett Wilson each became eligible for new contracts after the conclusion of the 2024 regular season. During the Scouting Combine, G.M. Darren Mougey was asked whether extensions for either or both are realistic.
“The to-do list is to keep good young players on the team and add good players,” Mougey said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com.
That’s really not an answer to the question. The Jets have the ability to keep both of them for two more years, thanks to the fifth-year option for first-round draft picks. The real question is whether they’ll get a new deal before or after Year Four.
Some teams make the move before the player’s fourth year, and some wait. The hidden benefit of waiting comes from having the player at a very low cash and cap number for one more season, before the fifth-year option drives it significantly higher.
For 2025, Gardner will make $5.2 million. Wilson is due to earn $3.5 million.
It never gets cheaper to wait. But the money saved by not handing out a massive contract now more than offsets any increases a year from now, due to the market and/or the cap. Also, the player continues to bear the injury risk.
So, yes, the Jets want to keep Gardner and Wilson. No, there’s no real clarity as to whether that’ll happen with new contracts in 2025.
