The NFL’s top cornerback contract was traded Tuesday, with the Colts taking on Sauce Gardner‘s deal after a blockbuster trade with the Jets. Months earlier, Gardner became the third cornerback this year to raise the cornerback contractual ceiling, securing a four-year, $130.1MM extension.
This has been a trend over the past 14 months. Patrick Surtain raised the bar initially, breaking the ice after a two-year period elapsed with no movement atop the CB market, and Jalen Ramsey came in with a new benchmark a day later in September 2024. The Chiefs have a player who will factor into this conversation, and after Gardner, Derek Stingley Jr. and Jaycee Horn secured market-topping terms this year, it will be expected Trent McDuffie will want the same.
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That is expected to be the case, according to ESPN.com’s Nate Taylor, who offers that McDuffie is believed to be seeking an extension that will eclipse Gardner’s in value. Gardner tops the market in AAV ($30.25MM), though Stingley still leads the way in total guarantees ($89.1MM) and fully guaranteed money ($48.1MM) at the position.
Although the Chiefs were able to extend 2022 first-rounder George Karlaftis on a deal outside the top 10 among edge rushers, McDuffie is the more accomplished player from Kansas City’s 2022 class. Despite team interest in a 2025 payday, the sides could not agree on terms this summer. McDuffie, 25, also appears close to becoming the player that convinces the Chiefs to deviate from a long-held philosophy at corner.
Sean Smith did draw a notable contract from the Chiefs, signing a three-year, $16.5MM deal during Andy Reid‘s first offseason in Missouri (2013). Since that contract came off Kansas City’s payroll in 2016, the Chiefs have kept costs low at the position, creating an assembly line of sorts.
The team traded Marcus Peters in 2018, let Steven Nelson walk as a 2019 free agent and did the same with Kendall Fuller (a player initially acquired in the Alex Smith trade) in 2o20. Charvarius Ward left for San Francisco in 2022, and the Chiefs executed a tag-and-trade move to send out L’Jarius Sneed in 2024. The team did give Kristian Fulton a two-year, $20MM deal this offseason; that already brought a deviation. But the former Titans and Chargers cover man has been one of the more disappointing 2025 free agents, playing only 17 defensive snaps as a Chief.
It should be expected Fulton becomes a K.C. one-and-done, with the 2026 offseason being the clear window for a McDuffie extension. The 2022 first-rounder is tied to a $13.63MM fifth-year option in 2026. The team effectively benefits from a loophole in the CBA, with the option formula only recognizing first-ballot Pro Bowls for upward mobility within its four price tiers. McDuffie has been a second-team All-Pro twice, but the Pro Bowl has overlooked him. Thus, a lower-cost option price. However, it should be expected McDuffie will not play the ’26 season on the option.
Used regularly in the slot and on the perimeter, McDuffie has displayed versatility. He has been the Chiefs’ secondary anchor during their three straight Super Bowl years, joining Chris Jones and Nick Bolton as cornerstones on Steve Spagnuolo‘s defense. Pro Football focus ranks McDuffie fifth among corners this season after slotting him in the top five in 2023 and ’24.
Pure boundary CBs lead the market, but given McDuffie’s importance to the Chiefs, it will be expected he becomes the position’s third $30MM-per-year player — especially if the cap makes another leap along the lines of its 2024 and ’25 spikes. That will also be an interesting development for Surtain, who has already seen less accomplished corners move well past his $24MM AAV. The Broncos have the reigning Defensive Player of the Year signed through 2029, however, giving the team some leverage.
As far as McDuffie goes, he looks on track to becoming the corner that changes the Chiefs’ approach. Concessions will then need to be made elsewhere on the roster to accommodate a pricey payday at a position the Chiefs have largely diminished financially under Reid.