For drafted players, the window for a new contract opens after the conclusion of his third regular season. Some teams kick the can on a new deal until after the fourth year. Some swoop in and get the second contract done quickly.
The Texans have moved very quickly with cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.
It’s an example of what can happen when team and agent don’t play games. When there’s mutual trust. When they can reach an agreement without needing a real deadline like the start of the regular season.
There’s nothing currently happening, as it relates to the 2025 NFL on-field calendar. The offseason program doesn’t begin until April. Training camp doesn’t open until late July. And yet the Texans and Stingley found a way to do what would have been done anyway, at a later date.
As plenty of teams have learned the hard way, waiting until a later date makes the deal more expensive. It never, ever gets cheaper.
Last year, the Broncos extended 2024 defensive player of the year Patrick Surtain II before the season began. He got $24 million per year in new money, a record at the time for cornerbacks. If they’d waited, they’d now be looking at more than $30 million per year, since that’s the new bar set by Stingley.
Now, the Texans have locked in at $30 million annually for Stingley. In so doing, they’ve sent a clear message to the locker room. If you perform at a high level and otherwise cause no problems, you will be rewarded handsomely and on a timely basis.
It’s another reason to believe the Texans are on the rise. And that they could be preparing to crash the hammerlock that the Chiefs, Bills, and Ravens have on the top of the conference.
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