The New York Jets are set to make a series of historic contract decisions.
General manager Darren Mougey announced on Monday, April 21, that he “anticipates” picking up the fifth-year team options on all of his first-rounders from the 2022 NFL draft.
“Yeah, we have time to make that decision, but I do anticipate exercising those fifth-year options on those players,” Mougey revealed.
“All drafted rookies are given four-year contracts to begin their careers — and when it comes to players selected in the first round, teams have the option to extend that pact for a fifth year, a decision they have to make heading into Year 4. The fifth-year-option window for the Class of 2022 opened Jan. 6, with the final deadline set for May 1,” NFL analyst Marc Ross explained.
#Jets GM Darren Mougey said he anticipates picking up the 5th year options on the contracts of the 2022 first round picks.
– CB Sauce Gardner $20.18M
– WR Garrett Wilson $16.81M
– EDGE Jermaine Johnson $13.41MAbove are the projected 2026 contract numbers for those team options… pic.twitter.com/pXjXej6BL7
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) April 21, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Over The Cap revealed what those projected contract numbers will be for the 2022 draft class.
Cornerback Sauce Gardner ($20.18 million), wide receiver Garrett Wilson ($16.81 million), and pass rusher Jermaine Johnson ($13.41 million) options combine to account for $50.41 million on the 2026 cap. Those numbers are fully guaranteed.
There Was Really Only One Tough Decision for the Jets Among the Bunch
Gardner and Wilson’s fifth-year team options were the easiest decisions for the Jets to make. Both have proven to be dynamic stars that will warrant long-term big-money contract extensions.
However, Johnson was a more complicated case study.
The former Florida State product blew out his Achilles in Week 2 of the 2024 season against the Tennessee Titans.
In year No. 1, Johnson only appeared in 34% of the defensive snaps. The Jets used him exclusively in a rotational role.
That means the Jets only had one year of sample size to truly judge Johnson off of. In 2023, Johnson was a star.
He started all 17 games, played in 66% of the defensive snaps, and set new career highs in every major defensive category. That list included sacks (7.5), tackles for loss (11), quarterback hits (16), pass deflections (seven), and total tackles (55).
Johnson earned a Pro Bowl nod for his efforts. He received an 83.0 overall grade, a 73.7 pass rush grade, and a 71.0 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus in 2023.
This offseason, a brand new regime had to decide what to do with him. An older player (26) coming off a serious injury is not normally a contract extension candidate. Yet the Jets are betting on his upside.
Jets Might Have to Get Creative With Future Contract Discussions
The green and white are dealing with what the kids call a first-world problem. In 2022, they took three players in the first round. They all ended up being varying levels of good, which means the Jets have to start thinking about their next contracts.
With the team exercising those fifth-year options, Gardner/Wilson/Johnson are now all under contract for the next two seasons through 2026. The only problem is that those fifth-year options for 2026 are all fully guaranteed figures: $50.41 million is now set to hit the books next offseason.
If the Jets extend those players, they can manipulate the cap and spread that over several years.
“In terms of contracts and extensions on any player, I will always keep that in-house. We will keep those dealings and discussions in-house,” Mougey responded when asked about potential contract extensions coming this offseason.
