Auburn football alumni score $153 million during NFL free agency’s legal tampering period

Four Auburn Alumni hit the ground running during the NFL’s legal tampering period, scoring big paydays.

Some struck it really big.

Cornerback Carlton Davis, linebacker Jamien Sherwood, wide receiver Darius Slayton, and quarterback Jarrett Stidham all made their time in the tampering period an easy one by all signing great deals and some getting paid to be in a good situation.

Carlton Davis gets $60 million from Patriots

Starting with the largest contract of the last two days was cornerback Carlton Davis’ three-year, $60 million contract with $34.5M guaranteed.

Finally, Davis gets the bag he has been yearning for since being bullied into taking a team-friendly deal in 2022 during Tampa Bays Tom Brady years.

Davis, 28 joins a New England team with a shortage of talent but some bright spots in Christian Gonzalez and Alex Austin in the secondary. This might be the same job that Davis had in Detroit, being the veteran leader for the young but scrappy secondary — but this time he gets paid to do so with the chance to mentor one of the league’s brightest young cornerbacks.

The Auburn alum has a chance to show the NFL world just how in his prime he really is.

Jets show faith in Jamien Sherwood with massive extension

Next is linebacker Jamien Sherwood signing a three-year, $45 million deal to stay with the New York Jets and join new head coach Aaron Glenn in what should be a match made in heaven.

Sherwood was originally drafted as a safety coming out of Auburn. He was told he wasn’t fast enough to be a safety, and not big enough to be a linebacker. Through it all, and even a season-ending Achilles injury his first year in, Sherwood would regain his starting role in 2024 and have the best season of his career.

After such a stellar season, Jamien would go on to be named the Jets team MVP and now gets paid for it. Sherwood should have more success like this in the future under Glenn. Sherwood and Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone play similarly, so there’s already a blueprint of what to expect. They both cover well, they both rush the passer by finding good blitzing lanes, and both be that X factor on defense being able to fly around and hit people.

Darius Slayton gets similar vote of confidence from Giants

Next comes wide receiver Darius Slayton signing a three-year deal worth up to $36 million to stay with the New York Giants.

The G-Men are just trying to figure it out after an extremely disappointing 3-14 season. Slayton gets paid to deal with the problems that come with playing in New York. The wild roller coaster of fandom, the unhealthy organizational structure, and no quarterback.

Well there is Tommy DeVito. If that counts.

All in all, this is a good deal for the former Auburn Tiger getting paid to mentor a rising young star in Malik Nabers and help the next quarterback to walk through the doors. And for that kind of money, it makes life a little easier to wade through the struggles.

Broncos keep Jarrett Stidham as Bo Nix’s backup

Last but certainly the most intriguing is Jarrett Stidham signing a two-year, $12 million deal with $6.99 million guaranteed to stay with the Broncos and remain Bo Nix’s backup.

Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham have a surprisingly good friendship and they have known each other for years even before the former’s college career. Sadly they never got to play with each other until Nix was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2024. Stidham went to the NFL draft in April 2019 and Nix joined AU just as Stidham was leaving.

What makes this so intriguing is that both Stidham and Nix have a good relationship, but getting paid to mentor and help create the next superstar quarterback without getting beat up doesn’t sound too bad either.

And it isn’t like the Denver Broncos are bad. They were just in the playoffs in 2024 after going 10-7. What makes the situation an even sweeter deal is that Stidham may never truly be out of a job with the resurgence of players like Geno Smith and Sam Darnold being labeled busts and making career comebacks.

All four of these contracts combined make a total of $153 million with $84.49 million guaranteed. These contracts help show the up-and-coming Auburn players of the future that you can get paid at the next level with work and dedication. Hard work and dedication.