Sauce Gardner Net Worth

What is Sauce Gardner's Net Worth and Salary?

Sauce Gardner is an American professional football cornerback who has a net worth of $20 million. Sauce Gardner was drafted by the NFL's New York Jets in 2022, and in his first season he was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. In both of his first two seasons, he was a Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro selection.

Contracts, Salaries & Career Earnings

Sauce Gardner entered the NFL as the fourth overall pick in the 2022 Draft, signing a standard rookie deal with the New York Jets. That contract included a 2026 player option worth $20.2 million guaranteed. In July 2025, just three years into his career, Gardner and the Jets agreed to a massive four-year, $120.4 million contract extension. The deal makes him the highest-paid cornerback in league history, carrying an average annual value of $30.1 million and including $85.653 million guaranteed.

The extension does not begin right away — it will kick in with the 2027 season, after his rookie deal runs its course. As a result, Gardner is now locked in with the Jets through 2030, ensuring his prime years remain in New York.

The contract leapfrogged the entire cornerback market. For comparison: Derek Stingley Jr., selected one pick ahead of Gardner in 2022, signed a three-year, $90 million deal in 2025 with a $30 million AAV — just $100,000 less per year than Gardner. Other recent top cornerback deals, such as Jaire Alexander's 4-year, $84 million contract, Denzel Ward's 5-year, $100.5 million contract, and Jalen Ramsey's 5-year, $100 million deal, all sit significantly below Gardner's extension both in average value and guarantees.

Early Life and High School

Sauce Gardner, whose real name is Ahmad Gardner, was born on August 31, 2000 in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of six, he earned his nickname "Sauce" from a youth football coach, who was known to call him A1 Sauce Sweet Feet Gardner. As a teenager, Gardner attended Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School, where he played as both a wide receiver and a cornerback on the school football team. He helped his team reach the Division 2 State Championship, where he caught four passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Following that season, Gardner was named an AP All-State selection at cornerback.

Collegiate Career

A three-star cornerback recruit coming out of high school, Gardner received offers from a plethora of colleges. He ultimately chose the University of Cincinnati. As a true freshman in 2019, Gardner played in 11 games with the Bearcats and recorded 31 combined tackles and three interceptions. For the season, he earned his first of three consecutive All-AAC first-team selections. As a sophomore in 2020, Gardner was named a first-team All-American. He had his best collegiate season as a junior in 2021, when he recorded 40 combined tackles and three interceptions in 13 games. Moreover, he was named AAC Defensive Player of the Year and helped the Cincinnati Bearcats reach the College Football Playoff. After the season, Gardner declared for the 2022 NFL draft.

(Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images)

New York Jets

One of the top cornerback prospects coming into the 2022 NFL draft, Gardner was chosen in the first round with the fourth overall pick by the New York Jets. He subsequently signed a four-year rookie contract with the team. Gardner made his NFL debut in the Jets' home-opening loss to the Baltimore Ravens. In Week 7, he was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his season-high ten combined tackles and three pass deflections. In 17 games and 17 starts, Gardner finished his rookie season with 75 combined tackles, two interceptions, and a league-leading 20 passes defended. He was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year as well as a Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro selection. In his second NFL season, Gardner had 57 combined tackles and 11 pass deflections in 16 games and 16 starts. For the second consecutive year, he earned Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors.

Gardner began the 2024 season starting in the Jets' season-opener against the San Francisco 49ers. In the 19-32 loss, he recorded his first career sack. Gardner had a season-high five combined tackles in a narrow loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 4. Toward the end of the year, he made a memorable pass interception that secured a win for the Jets in the final 44 seconds of a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite his successes, Gardner suffered a hamstring injury during the season that limited him to 15 games and 15 starts. He finished the 2024 season with 49 combined tackles, one interception, one sack, and nine passes defended. The Jets went on to pick up the fifth-year option on Gardner's contract in 2025, and he signed a new, four-year contract extension with the team that summer.

Other Endeavors

In 2022, Gardner partnered with the sports bar franchise Buffalo Wild Wings to endorse the "Sauce Sauce," a sweet and spicy barbecue sauce named after his moniker.

Personal Life

In the spring of 2025, it was confirmed on social media that Gardner was in a relationship with rapper Ice Spice, who posted a picture on Instagram of the two in a bathroom mirror.

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