Last week, Carolina Panthers Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn reset the defensive back market. The former first-round pick was signed to a four-year, $100 million contract extension ($25 million annually), which included $70 million guaranteed.
At the time, Horn was the highest-paid cornerback in the league in terms of AAV, surpassing Jalen Ramsey ($24.1 million) and Pat Surtain II ($24 million). However, the young cornerback didn’t hold that title for long as it was Derek Stingley Jr.’s turn to get paid.
On Monday, the Houston Texans star-studded cornerback was inked to a three-year, $90 million extension ($30M AAV), which includes $89 million guaranteed. Stingley’s $30M makes him the highest-paid DB for the foreseeable future.
Horn quickly took to Twitter and weighed in on Stingley’s new deal. The Panthers star defender tweeted “Sting” with two bee emojis. Two cornerbacks have the same agent, so it’s not shocking that Stingley’s deal got done so quickly.
Sting!! 🐝🐝 https://t.co/gFY0TxNUxn
— Jaycee Horn (@jayceehorn_10) March 17, 2025
That said, with Horn getting his deal done first, it was only a matter of time before Stingley Jr. got his new deal.
We see this all the time in football. When one guy gets paid and resets the market at a certain position, the next guy knows the benchmark and tries to surpass it.
Horn doesn’t have an All-Pro on his resume like Stingley, but he was named to his first Pro Bowl like his counterpart in 2024.
The young cornerback recorded 68 combined tackles, 13 pass deflections, five tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, and an interception. Horn also possessed a 53.2 completion percentage allowed on targets and a 92.7 pass rating allowed when targeted.
The Panthers hope Horn can help take the defense to another level in 2025 and possibly make the All-Pro team like Stingley Jr. We wait to see if Sauce Gardner or Trent McDuffie will surpass Stingley’s average annual salary this offseason.