If New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks ever needed a wake-up call, the NFL’s latest cornerback contracts just slapped him across the face. In the span of a week, Jaycee Horn and Derek Stingley Jr. reset the market, with the Houston Texans handing Stingley a three-year, $90 million extension ($30 million AAV), making him the highest-paid defensive back in league history.
Before that, the Carolina Panthers locked up Horn on a four-year, $100 million deal. The corner market has officially been reset.
The Giants, meanwhile, have been scrambling to fix their secondary. They went out and signed Paulson Adebo to a three-year, $54 million contract, a move that wouldn’t have been necessary if Banks had played up to his first-round status. Instead, he spent last season getting benched for effort issues and putting out some of the worst coverage grades on the team.
Now, with the cornerback market exploding and names like Sauce Gardner, Trent McDuffie, and Christian Gonzalez next in line for massive paydays, Banks has a clear blueprint for how to cash in. It’s not complicated—play like a No. 1 corner, and you get paid like one.
Deonte Banks still has time to change the narrative
Physically, Banks checks every box. He’s 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, and ran a 4.35 at the NFL Scouting Combine. He has the size, speed, and athleticism to match up with the best receivers in the league.
But none of that matters if he doesn’t bring consistency, effort, and actual playmaking ability to the table.
Right now, Banks isn’t even in the same conversation as guys like Stingley, Horn, or Gardner. His 2024 season was a mess—he struggled in coverage, allowed too many big plays, and, most concerningly, had multiple lapses in effort that got him benched midgame. That’s not what you want from a player drafted in the first round to be your top corner.
With Adebo now in the mix and the Giants potentially adding another defensive back in the draft, Banks is quickly running out of time to prove he can turn his draft-bust narrative around. If he keeps coasting, the Giants will eventually move on. But if he finally locks in and plays to his potential, there’s seemingly at least $90 million waiting for him down the road.
And come on—think about how much fun we’d have with the Banks puns. It just fits. But right now, the only thing he’s cashing in on is wasted potential for all the fun we could have. Massive bummer.
The Texans and Panthers just showed him exactly what’s at stake. The only question now is whether Banks wants in on that payday or if he’s content watching from the sidelines. He has 90 million reasons to figure it out—fast.