Detroit has made a name for itself as an NFL player-producing powerhouse. As recently as 2023, no city – and that's just the city, not the suburbs – had produced more active NFL players. And many of those came from well-known programs,

The New York Jets made a big bet on Sauce Gardner as the anchor of their secondary by giving him a four-year, $120.4 million contract extension, but his actual impact on games is something still being debated within NFL circles.

Gardner will earn an average of $30.1 million per season once the extension officially kicks in. The Jets made him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. Gardner's deal slightly surpasses that of Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., who received a three-year, $90M extension in March ($30M average).