PALM BEACH, Fla. – When the Texans brokered a three-year, $90 million contract extension with All-Pro defensive back Derek Stingley Jr. to make him the new highest-paid cornerback in NFL history, the hefty financial investment represented something more than money.
It was about respect, Stingley resetting the marketplace for top corners and an organizational philosophy and message about drafting, developing, and, ideally, rewarding players in their prime who have earned long-term deals like Stingley and Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins.
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Stingley receives a $25 million signing bonus and an average annual compensation milestone of $30 million in a blockbuster deal that has $89 million total guaranteed.
“Through Stingley’s extension, I think everybody can see the message there,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said during the NFL owners meetings at The Breakers one year after Collins received a three-year, $75 million extension. “We want to send a message to all of our young guys: When you do it the right way, guys like Stingley, Nico, young guys who came in and played really well for us, became top players in the league at their positions, you want to reward those guys. You want everyone to see we’re going to reward guys for doing it the right way.”
The Texans have a core of young players, including quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson who will be eligible for contract extensions next year after their third NFL seasons. The Texans and nickel Jalen Pitre, a second-round draft pick by general manager Nick Caserio, have a mutual interest in a contract extension, per league sources, and it’s a matter of finding the right number for the Stafford graduate to keep playing for his hometown team after next season. Contract talks haven’t opened yet, but preliminary conversations have been held.
“The relentless mindset is so key and it’s all over our building right now and it’s really fun,” Hannah McNair said. “And Nick keeps drafting really well. It’s a great problem to have that we can’t keep everyone, but that speaks to Nick and DeMeco and getting the right guys in the building.”
Stingley has base salaries of $1.431 million in 2025, $21.595 million in 2026 that are fully guaranteed, $20 million in 2027 guaranteed for injury that will become fully guaranteed by March of 2026, $21 million in 2028 guaranteed for injury at signing that becomes fully guaranteed in March of 2027 and $21 million in 2029. The total package is five years and worth $113 million overall, including a $1 million roster bonus in 2029 and per-game active roster bonuses up to $500,000 from 2026 to 2029.
Stingley surpassed Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn’s four-year, $100 million contract that briefly made him the NFL’s highest paid corner in the league. Both deals were negotiated by Austin-based agent David Mulugheta of Athletes First.
A former third overall pick and consensus All-American from LSU, Stingley earned this status as an All-Pro selection last season with a total of seven interceptions, including two in the playoffs as he picked off Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
“It’s been extremely exciting and gratifying to see how he’s come on into the type of player Nick saw when he was drafting him out of LSU,” Texans owner Cal McNair said. “He missed some time at LSU and it was a bit of an unknown, but Nick really believed in him, scouts believed in him and the coaches. He worked on it. He put his head down.
“As you’ve seen, he’s a very humble but very hard working player that loves football, leaves it all on the field in practice and in games and has shown he’s an elite player and doing everything the right way. We were excited to go to him early and extend him and show that we appreciate all that he’s done and all that he’s accomplished.”
The Texans, as they did with Stingley,
want to keep extending as many young players as possible.
“They’re setting the standard,” Cal McNair said. “They have come in and set the bar at a really high level. They’re great teammates and great leaders and we’re really happy to embrace that and get young players and continue to see them evolve and mature. We’re really looking forward to seeing where that chapter is going to lead.”
'We want to reward guys who do it the right way' #Texans coach DeMeco Ryans on how message franchise sends rewarding top young players like All-Pro corner Derek Stingley Jr. (Highest paid with 3 year, $90 million extensipn) is intentional, referenced Nico Collins, too @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/ai694gqo5K
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 31, 2025
How did Stingley celebrate? With a simple meal: a bucket of crawfish spread across a picnic table.
Investing in Stingley was far from crazy, though. It made perfect, logical sense to an organization that values so many things about Stingley, including his character and dedication to football, fitness and film study.
Natural cover skills.
The seemingly effortless acceleration and athleticism.
How instinctively Stingley racks and catches the football, with soft hands that rival wide receivers’ grip and fundamentals.
The underrated, hard-nosed aspect of his game, and how he embraces tackling as a willing and capable thumper.
So, the Texans stepped up in a major way by rewarding Stingley for the player he is and with the hope that he’ll continue to be an elite corner for years and years to come. This deal likely only sets the stage for future contract extensions for Stingley with the Texans.
“That means a lot,” Stingley said. “Especially throughout the years, just every single year it seems like I’ve gained their trust more. They’re allowing me to be comfortable with who I am, whether that’s on the field or off the field. So, there was never any pressure to be this person or be that person. So, I think it’s pretty cool. They actually believe in me, so that’s nice.”
#Texans All-Pro corner Derek Stingley Jr., on his three-year $90 million extension @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/kxvzIQfbc2
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 19, 2025
Stingley’s new deal topped Horn’s $25 million annual average along with Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II, an All-Pro selection like Stingley, playing under a four-year, $96 million extension that averages $24 million annually, just a bit less than Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey’s three-year, $72.3 million deal that averages $24.1 million. Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander (four years, $84 million, $21 million average), Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell (four years, $81 million, $20.25 million average) and Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward (five years, $100.5 million, $20.1 million average) are the next highest paid corners.
New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner should benefit from Stingley’s market-setting payday, as should Surtain and other elite corners.
“I kind of went into this situation just basically just thinking, like, ‘Just playing football,’” Stingley said. “I wasn’t really focused on how all of that was going to get done. It got done and it’s cool. The market is different now, but that doesn’t really have anything to do with me really. I am just here to play football.”
- ‘All-Pro Sting,’ Texans star corner achieves All-Pro status for first time
Stingley was more than open to conducting business with the defending AFC South champions.
“Yeah, I want to be here forever,” Stingley said at the end of last season.
And that sentiment and Stingley’s status as one of the top defensive players in the league led the Texans and the former third overall pick to the point where formal contract talks culminated quickly.
“Derek is a great player,” Caserio said at the NFL scouting combine. “He’s helped our team immensely. He’s improved each year. He’s earned an opportunity to put himself in position.”
The conversations with Ryans and Caserio as the deal was completed followed a recurring theme: don’t change.
“Really just staying true to who you are,” Stingley said. “You’ve got it, OK, but it’s still football at the end of the day. Just go out there and be myself and continue doing what I’m doing.”
All of Stingley’s skills and talent have been encouraged and nurtured carefully by his father.
Through every step in his development, Stingley’s father has been with him to support his dreams. It was fitting that they were together when the big moment arrived.
“Without my dad, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now,” Stingley said. “I mean, just with everything. I wouldn’t even be who I am. Everything, that’s all I can say. I mean, I wouldn’t be me.”
The catching is a skill few cornerbacks own. Stingley catches the ball as well or better than most wide receiver.
“I just know how to catch the football,” he said.
How much Stingley is boosted by his close-knit inner circle of his parents, girlfriend, extended family and friends isn’t something he takes for granted.
He’s building a legacy on the football field, but he doesn’t try to do it alone.
“A lot of people don’t have the support around me that I have,” Stingley said. “That’s a blessing, I’ll take that. Then when I think about grandkids and all that, they’ll be able to say what I’ve done. So, I’m proud of that, I am trying to do everything that my support system has done for me.”
One year after being snubbed for Pro Bowl consideration, Stingley Jr. parlayed a healthy breakthrough season to be named to his first Pro Bowl.
Named to the All-Pro squad for the first time, Stingley intercepted five passes during the regular season for the second year in a row.
It was Stingley who locked up Miami Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill with a pair of interceptions on Tua Tagovailo passes he cut off to take the football away from an All-Pro who has led the NFL in receiving yards previously.
Stingley had 18 passes defensed, second-most in the league. According to NextGenStats, Stingley allowed the lowest passer rating (56.9) and lowest completion percentage (46.7%) among cornerbacks who played at least 400 coverage snaps.
He is the first Texans cornerback in franchise history to earn All-Pro status. He is the second defensive player in team history to be named All-Pro, joining three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year selection J.J. Watt.
And the durability improvement, after previously dealing with hamstring and foot injuries, has set Stingley apart again.
“You’re not really in control of injuries,” he said. “I mean, certain things you are. But sometimes stuff just happens. Last year, being able to play every game, that was really my main goal and, I mean that’s my goal every year. just work out and then the strength staff, they make sure that they know what we’re doing and just go by that.”
Where does Stingley’s ability to own these contested catch situations come from? It all hails back to a belief that the football belongs to him, not the offense.
“I go back to as a kid playing the jump-ball game with all your friends, like you just try to compete when the ball is in the air,” Stingley said.
Three seasons into his NFL career, Stingley has intercepted 13 passes.
And he can’t wait to get back on the field. For Stingley, it’s all about the work product.
“It’s time to start playing football,” Stingley said. “I’m ready to get back into it. So, that’s really it. I don’t really think about the contract for real. .. I’m not really going to do anything different. Just keep being me.”
Retired All-Pro corner Antonio Cromartie has been watching Stingley’s game for years, believing in his skills long before many others started stating the obvious point that he’s the top all-around cornerback from his draft class over Gardner.
“Look at the way Sting carries himself, how he plays the game, he’s a true playmaker who has picked up his game every single year,” Cromartie told KPRC 2. “He has improved year in and year out. You’re talking about a kid with great ball skills, great cover skills and he can do anything you want to do at the cornerback position. He’s making tackles. He’s a lot more physical this year. He’s definitely someone who loves ball and has confidence in his abilities. That speaks a lot more to his love and passion for the game.
“Being great is having confidence in yourself and knowing you’re the best at what you’re doing, which helps elevate your game. He’s very enjoyable to watch. I loved watching him at LSU. He had the best ball skills of any player, of any receiver, his body control, the way he can put himself in position to go and make a play. You can’t teach that God-given talent, but he has learned other things and you see him flourish. You can see that father influence his dad puts on him, driving and pushing himself to be the best he can. When you got a dad in your corner who wants the best for you, you never get complacent.”
Unlike two seasons ago when he was sidelined with a hamstring injury, Stingley started every game and has a career-high 54 tackles, four tackles for losses, and tied his career-high with five interceptions for the second year in a row for the AFC South champions.
He allowed just 40 catches on 85 targets, a 45.1 completion percentage, for 382 yards and four touchdowns. Opposing quarterbacks had a 51.2 passer rating against him and just 249 air yards and 133 yards after the catch.
“Derek has done a great job all year of when people challenge him down the field, he has a great ability to track the football and go make the play,” Ryans said. “Not many guys have that ability to track the football so a lot of guys play DB because they can’t catch it but Derek does a good job of playing with great awareness but also having great hands to finish the play and make teams pay.”
“Sting’s pretty unique with the ball in his hands and catching,” defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. “He’s got great ball skills. We talk about having aggressive hands and going to get the ball and then pulling it away and pulling it down those things. I think you see that in the attacking the ball and the strength of hands. Sting’s got that patented. I don’t even know how he does that.”
Stingley was certainly deserving of this blockbuster payday, which the Texans were more than amenable to negotiating.
“He is probably the best athlete I have been around in my life,” Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who’s also represented by Mulugheta, said during the season. ”Ball skills, speed, strength, size and just someone who I have seen grow as a player. I am just very happy for him. I know he is about to get a bag and I am happy for him, he deserves it. That is not his motivation, which is dope, it is just being elite at football, and I think he is going to be great in this league for a long time.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
