Father-son moments can be special throughout a lifetime. Telling you’re All-Pro defensive back kid that he’s the highest-paid player at his position has to be considered a top-three moment in the Stingley household since it’s a one-in-a-quintillion chance of happening ever in the universe.
Derek Stingley Jr.’s on-field play in 2024 was always going to get him a lucrative contract. He knew his success would eventually make him one of the highest-paid players in the league, even if the ultimate goal was and still is to win a Super Bowl.
But surprisingly, Stingley wasn’t even the first person to know he had just agreed to terms on a new three-year, $90 million extension that would make him the league’s highest-paid cornerback. Instead, Stingley’s father, Derek Sr., picked up the phone while the younger Sting was working out to talk to agent David Mulugheta.
“Like halfway through the workout, he was like, ‘Dude, guess what?’” Stingley Jr. jokingly said during Wednesday’s press conference. “I was like, ‘What.’ He was like ‘Deal is done.’ And I just went, ‘What, that’s crazy.’ I was just saying, ‘That’s crazy.’”
That’s the world of Stingley: focused on the prize and hardly fazed by his Dad being the one to find out first that he’s getting $30 million annually. Most people would be freaking out, buying new cars and taking the family out for an expensive meal.
Stingley, a native of Louisiana, he went a more traditional route to celebrate the contract extension.
“I had me some crawfish,” Stingley said.
Crawfish sounds good, but $30 million sounds better. Stingley earned that deal after coming off an All-Pro season in which he had five interceptions (tied for sixth most in the NFL) and 18 pass breakups (second most). The former No. 3 overall pick allowed the second-lowest completion percentage among cornerbacks with at least 200 coverage snaps (46.7%), according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
That’s the type of talent Houston needs if it plans on winning a title behind third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud. And Stingley? He’s just getting started, and so is the defense.
“I feel like we’re going to be standard – we are the standard, really,” Stingley said. “But I feel like it’s just going to add another level of, ‘We’re here. This is our defense, this is the way we play football.’ So, think it’s going to be good.”
