It's been an eventful week in Sauce Gardner's eventful life of playing football and building foundations.
And it began last week, not on the day Gardner agreed with the Jets on a contract extension that reportedly makes him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history, but the day before.
That's when wide receiver Garrett Wilson agreed to his new deal to also remain in green and white.
"I was shooting this video, and my marketing guy told me Garrett just got extended," Gardner told Eric Allen of newyorkjets.com on "The Official Jets Podcast" on Tuesday, report day for the start of training camp. "And the Jets had sent over my situation, and I could've signed that day. But I'm like, nah, Garrett just signed. I want him to have his day."
The two first-round picks of the Jets' 2022 draft have had this relationship that goes well beyond the field of play. Sauce wanted G to bask in the sun because he knew his own daylight was right around the corner.
"That call was crazy," Gardner said of reaching out to Wilson then. "He showed me his house and I said, 'Oh, you were counting your chickens before they hatched.' He had already bought a house in advance, so he knew it was going to happen.
"The smile on his face, it lit up, man. I was so happy to see him feeling that way, and I was like, I don't know how I'm going to feel tomorrow, but I know it's going to be something close to that."
Counting His Blessings
Gardner and the Jets indeed agreed to the corner's new package the next day, and one of Sauce's main responsibilities on report day was to officially sign on the dotted line.
"It was a blessing," he said. "I've got to give thanks to God, to my family — especially my mom for taking care of me — and to my team, [agent] AJ Vaynerchuk and my brother, Allante. They made it happen for me. My job was easy. Just go out there and play football."
Even coming off of a slightly less Sauce-y 2024 season, primarily because offenses limited their targets to his side of the defense, Gardner plays corner as well as the best in the game. The stats we're familiar with, the contract numbers underscore it. And the reason he's in this position is because he knew early on that he loved the game he now excels at. And he gives his greatest props to his mother, Alisa, for helping him feed his obsession.
"It was hard for me to think this far, to really believe I would be the highest-paid cornerback or stuff like that," he said, recalling the often grim days growing up in Detroit. "I never even played corner till 11th grade in high school. I just remember telling myself, I'm going to make it to the NFL. Opportunities in Detroit were so limited. There were only a select few things you could've done. The reality is I never had a job in my life. This is my first job I ever had, playing football.
"I remember times used to be tough, I used to get in trouble in school sometimes. But my grades were always good, and my mom would always say, 'You're going to get a job,' and I'd say, 'No I'm not.' I remember when I just wanted to get some exposure, I'd ask her for money for football camps and stuff, and she would really give me her last. And I'd tell her, I'm going to pay it back to you."
'Time for Me to Take That Next Step'
Gardner has any number of other constituencies he's paying it forward for. He thinks of the young people in his hometown, who on social media call him "Icon." "I always share certain things, because Detroit is small, everybody knows where I come from, everybody knows the area I grew up in. I share stuff just to show them it's possible, that when they go on their phone, 'I know Sauce was here, man. If he's there now, I know we can get there.'
"I always embrace the responsibility for the youth, not only in Detroit but in general. A lot of people go through messed-up situations. Me being able to share my story gives them hope."
His other communities include Jets fans, who "welcomed me with open arms" ever since he arrived as the fourth overall pick out of Cincinnati in that 2022 draft and immediately erupted on the NFL scene with 2 interceptions, 20 passes defensed and All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections.
And then there are his teammates, for whom he wants to not only spice up his onfield numbers under his new coaches headed up by Aaron Glenn, a former Pro Bowl CB for the Jets himself back in the day, but also provide more vocal leadership in his fourth season as a pro.
Fans can get a renewed sense of where Sauce came from and where he's headed when they watch training camp practice for the next month, especially when No. 1 (Sauce) lines up against No. 5 (Wilson) during 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills in the heat of a North Jersey summer. In those battles, iron will sharpen iron and those two will enter games with their mates knowing they're "going to have the upper edge because we know how elite we are at our positions.
"Now it's time for me to take that next step," Gardner said. "It's time for us to win. That's the mentality that Aaron Glenn and [GM Darren] Mougey and our whole coaching staff has been preaching. Now it's time to win games. I've got to play my part in that, doing whatever it takes on the field and off the field, being the best leader I can be. So I'm looking forward to it."
