Former IU football star cornerback D’Angelo Ponds has signed his first NFL contract.
According to a report by Adam Schefter of ESPN, Ponds reached an agreement today with the New York Jets on a four-year, $9,836,918 deal that includes $8,946,359 guaranteed.
Ponds was selected in the second round by the Jets in last month’s NFL Draft. They selected their second-straight Indiana standout with the 50th overall selection, after taking Omar Cooper with the No. 30 pick on night one of the draft. Ponds is the highest-drafted Indiana cornerback since Tracy Porter went with the 40th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.
Ponds will wear No. 23 for the Jets, the team announced this week. Cooper, Jr. will wear 83.
.@DangeloPondss: “It feels surreal” pic.twitter.com/kgIg2hYrqB
— New York Jets (@nyjets) May 7, 2026
After following coach Curt Cignetti from James Madison, Ponds produced two stellar seasons in Bloomington.
He appeared in 41 career games with 37 starts – 28 appearances with 27 starts as a Hoosier – and earned All-America honors in each of his two seasons in Bloomington. A second-team selection in 2024, Ponds earned just the second-ever first-team All-America honor for a cornerback at IU in 2025. He also garnered Freshman All-America laurels as a true freshman at James Madison.
Ponds was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten pick in 2024 and 2025 with 118 tackles (80 solo), 20 pass breakups and five interceptions. He was the second-highest graded cornerback over the past two seasons (min. 800 snaps) in the Power 4 at 91.5 per Pro Football Focus and forced 21 incompletions.
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