Pat Surtain’s reign as the highest cornerback in NFL history only lasted about 48 hours.
Two days after the Denver Broncos gave Surtain a four-year, $96 million contract extension that averaged $24 million per season, the Miami Dolphins gave Jalen Ramsey a three-year, $72.3 million deal that averages $24.1 million per season.
Similar to the quarterback market, the highest-paid cornerback is often the most-recently paid cornerback.
Surtain’s contract already looked like a bargain because he had two years left on his existing deal. That essentially made PS2’s contract a six-year, $119 million deal worth an average of just under $20 million per season.
As the NFL’s salary cap continues to go up each year, Surtain’s contract will age well. Sauce Gardner is still playing on his rookie contract. When it comes time for an extension, Gardner’s agent will want to top the Ramsey contract, dropping PS2’s average even lower in the highest-paid rankings.
When it comes to big extensions for star players, getting a deal done sooner than later is always cheaper, as has been demonstrated with Surtain.
