C.J. Gardner-Johnson was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. His rookie contract was worth approximately $3.3 million, with a signing bonus of around $784,100. From 2019 to 2021 with the Saints, he earned $2,807,100.
The Lions traded the safety with a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in August 2022. The trade was made in exchange for a 2023 fifth-round pick (165th overall) and the lower of their two sixth-round picks (199th overall) in 2024. In 2022, the final year of his rookie deal, he earned $2,540,000 while representing the Eagles.
His rookie contract expired in 2023, following which he signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Detroit Lions, including about $6.5 million fully guaranteed at signing. In March 2024, Gardner-Johnson signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Eagles. The contract included $10 million in guaranteed money.
In March last year, the Eagles traded the safety and a 2026 sixth-round draft pick to the Houston Texans for guard Kenyon Green and a 2025 fifth-round draft pick. After starting the first three games of the season for the Texans, the safety was released. The Baltimore Ravens signed him to the practice squad but was ultimately released. He reunited with defensive coordinator and former Saints coach Dennis Allen on the Chicago Bears.
According to Over The Cap, the safety has earned approximately $28,852,835 in career earnings to date, with a career average per year (APY) of $4,121,834. His total guarantees across contracts amount to $28,074,200, and he has had potential earnings of $20,997,100. His largest earning of his career came in 2024, when he received $8.5 million, while his highest cap number was $4.5 million in 2023. Moreover, Gardner-Johnson has generated $15,084,275 in total dead money charges.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson Returning to Eagles?
C.J. Gardner-Johnson has already had two stints with the Eagles. A video is going viral in which the safety was asked about a potential reunion with the Eagles in 2026. He replied:
“Tell them boys to get with me.”
The safety has played two seasons with the Eagles in 2022 and 2024, and both times the team went to the Super Bowl, and they lifted the Lombardi in 2024. In both of these seasons, he recorded six interceptions each. He amassed 126 tackles, 20 pass deflections, seven tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, one sack, one forced fumble, and one pick-six.
Last season, he played a total of 13 games combined for the Texans and the Bears, recording 46 solo tackles, 20 assists, three sacks, five tackles for loss, four passes defended, six quarterback hits and one forced fumble.
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