Jaycee Horn, Panthers Agree to Reported $100M Contract to Be Highest-Paid NFL DB Ever

Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn is coming off the best season of his young career, and the team rewarded him in historic fashion on Monday.

The Panthers announced that they signed Horn to a four-year contract extension through the 2029 season. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the deal is worth $100 million with $70 million guaranteed and can reach a max of $108 million. The $25 million average annual value makes Horn the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history.

Horn was entering the final year of his contract after Carolina exercised the fifth-year option on his rookie deal. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler previously reported that the team hoped to complete a contract extension for him "sooner rather than later," and it got its wish a few hours before the official start of NFL free agency.

Panthers general manager Dan Morgan had high praise for Horn and expressed his importance to the team at the end of the 2024 season.

"I think I said that to you guys the last time I talked to you guys, that Jaycee is obviously the focal point of the defense, somebody that we're going to want here long-term," Morgan said in January.

Horn was selected to his first Pro Bowl this past season after finishing with a career-high 68 total tackles, 13 passes defended, two sacks and an interception across 15 games, the most he's played in a season during his four-year career. The 2021 No. 8 overall pick had struggled to stay on the field due to various injuries, but he reached his full potential once he was able to remain healthy.

"A lot more work to be put in," Horn said after being selected to the Pro Bowl. "I could be a way better player. I got a lot of room left to go, so just trying to do that every day and then hopefully next year coming back and, you know, making it again."

Horn's deal resets the cornerback market and provides a benchmark for impending deals for fellow rising stars Sauce Gardner of the New York Jets and Derek Stingley Jr. of the Houston Texans.