Panthers prove they were one step ahead of the NFL after another historical contract is given out to a budding superstar
Even though it made sense to me, a lot of people questioned the Carolina Panthers' recent decision to make Jaycee Horn the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. He's an elite talent that hasn't reached his full potential as perennial All-Pro while also consistently demonstrating he has said potential when healthy.The dissenting argument also made sense, […]
Even though it made sense to me, a lot of people questioned the Carolina Panthers' recent decision to make Jaycee Horn the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. He's an elite talent that hasn't reached his full potential as perennial All-Pro while also consistently demonstrating he has said potential when healthy.
The dissenting argument also made sense, however. Sure, Horn is one of the best corners in the league. He has elite talent and his best football is still in front of him at 25-years-old. At the same time, he's played in just 37 of 68 games over four years, has made just one Pro Bowl, and has just five career interceptions along with 26 pass break-ups.
But Horn's potential and production when healthy weren't the only reasons the Panthers extended him. The NFL extension market is a constant game of The Price Is Right where each player is trying to win the title of highest-paid, no matter if lasts five minutes or if their contract is $1 more.
Guys like Derek Stingely Jr., Sauce Gardner, Trent McDuffie, were all in line to get mega-extensions in the near future, so the Panthers wanted to get out ahead of that in order to avoid risk having to pay Horn even more. Or even worse – watch him walk in free agency after the 2025 season because they can't/don't want to tag him or can't/don't want to pay him what he desires.
Well, that line of thinking proved to be both true and valuable as ever on Monday when it was announced, that in fact, Stingley Jr. received a contract extension worth $30 million per year, which is absolutely wild to think about.
Dan Morgan and Co. got out in front of the market at the exact time they needed to and it resulted in a massive win for the Panthers. Not only did they give one of their best players and building blocks a historical payday that surely helped him buy into what they're doing, but they avoided all kinds of stress and saved a ton of money in the process.
This is certainly a move a smart front office would make and as long as Horn is healthy, it'll pay off big.
