Derek Stingley’s three-year, $90 million contract makes him the highest-paid defensive back in the NFL.
Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. is now the NFL’s highest-paid defensive back.
The Texans
announced March 18 that they had signed Stingley to an extension. The three-year, $9o million deal breaks the previous record set by Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn earlier this year. The former third overall pick won his first All-Pro and Pro Bowl nods this past season.
According to
Spotrac, Stingley’s contract is the seventh-highest in terms of total value among defensive backs. However, the deal’s $30 million average annual value far outpaces Horn’s contract by $5 million per year. The
extension does not kick in until the 2026 season; Stingley is still playing on the final year of his rookie contract. The deal also includes $63.5 million in guaranteed money.
Stingley
posted a video to his Instagram story of a pile of crawfish. “This [is] how you celebrate fr,” he captioned the story. Houston Chronicle Texans reporter
Jonathan M. Anderson reported when reports of Stingley’s extension emerged Monday that Stingley was at the Texans’ practice facility, working out in the weight room with his teammates.
Stingley jumped out to a phenomenal start to his college career as a freshman at LSU. He intercepted six passes and defended 21 passes, to go with 38 total tackles, as part of the LSU team that won the BCS National Championship. Despite playing in just 10 games over the next two seasons, Stingley declared for the 2022 NFL Draft. He was drafted by the Texans with the third overall pick, tying the NFL record for highest-drafted cornerback.
Stingley entered his rookie season as a starter at cornerback. He played just nine games but had 45 tackles, an interception, five passes defended, and a sack. He played in 11 games in 2023, racking up 39 tackles, including a tackle for loss. He also set a career high with five interceptions and 13 passes defended. He finally played all 17 games in 2024 and had a career year: 54 tackles, including four tackles for loss, 18 passes defended, and five interceptions again. He intercepted two passes in the Texans’ 32-12 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card round, becoming the first player in franchise history to have two interceptions in a playoff game. He earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors in Week 15, was named a First-Team All-Pro, and earned a Pro Bowl nod as well.
Texans executive vice president and general manager Nick Caserio said at the NFL Combine in February that the organization was in the process of working out an extension.
“Derek’s a great player,” Caserio said in a
sidebar conversation with members of the media at the time. “He’s helped our team immensely. He’s improved each year. He’s earned an opportunity to put himself in a position. [I’m] sure we‘ll have some conversations here at some point. We’re not going to put a timetable on anything. If we get something worked out, we get it worked out. If we don’t, well, we’ll just try to figure out when the most appropriate time is.”
“He’s expressed sentiments about wanting to be here,” Caserio added. “We want Derek to be here.”
Caserio also said that he had a good relationship with Stingley’s agent. “But Derek’s earned the opportunity here because of his play, because of his performance.”
Stingley’s contract broke the record for defensive backs, but it was just one of several records that were broken this free agency.
First, the Las Vegas Raiders made defensive end
Maxx Crosby the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL with a three-year, $106.5 million extension. Then last week, the Cleveland Browns made their superstar pass rusher,
Myles Garrett, the highest-paid non-QB with a four-year, $160 million extension. Then on Tuesday, the Cincinnati Bengals took the title from Garrett by signing wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase to a four-year, $161 million contract.
