Conventional wisdom suggested there would be a quick resolution with cornerback Christian Gonzalez’s contract once the Seattle Seahawks signed Devon Witherspoon to a market-topping deal on Aug. 16. Witherspoon received a four-year, $132 million contract extension, averaging $33 million per year with $101,255,702 in guarantees where $59,255,702 is fully guaranteed, which are both record marks for a cornerback.
That’s what happened in the running back market this preseason. Bijan Robinson’s three-year, $66.75 million extension, averaging $22.5 million per year and worth a maximum of $75 million through salary escalators, with the Atlanta Falcons served as a blueprint for the Detroit Lions giving Jahmyr Gibbs a three-year, $67.5 million extension, averaging $22.5 million worth up to $75.75 million thanks to salary escalators, within a matter of days.
It’s been over two weeks since Witherspoon signed. Gonzalez still hasn’t gotten a new deal. Both players are represented by Reggie Johnson. It’s only natural that Johnson would find Witherspoon’s new deal particularly relevant given he negotiated it and the players, who were selected 12 picks apart in 2023’s first round, have both become two of the game’s best young cornerbacks.
Gonzalez has two years left on his rookie contract for $20,928,482. He is scheduled to make $2,809,452 this year and $18.119 million in 2027, which is his fully guaranteed fifth-year option.
Johnson is attempting to hold New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s feet to the fire because he announced at the start of training camp in late July that Gonzalez had been offered a deal that would make him the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback. Gonzalez was dismayed at Kraft negotiating through the media as he preferred to keep the contract discussions private.
At the time of Kraft’s proclamation, the distinction belonged to Trent McDuffie. He signed a four-year, $124 million extension, averaging $31 million per year, in connection with his March trade from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Los Angeles Rams.
The general proposition with Kraft’s offer should continue to hold true despite changing cornerback market conditions. Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said that still is the case last week with the most recent offer. It conflicts with reporting from ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, who indicated the two sides weren’t close to reaching an agreement.
Christian “Flight” White, who is Gonzalez’s longtime trainer, confirmed Wolf’s characterization of the offer in an interview with Boston radio station 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Felger & Mazz on Monday. He also expressed optimism that a deal would get done before the Super Bowl LX rematch against the Seattle Seahawks in the regular-season opener on Sept. 9.
Making Gonzalez the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback is the first obstacle that must be overcome to reach an agreement. The holdup is likely more structurally related than anything else.
Witherspoon has phenomenal cash flow in his deal. The deal is front-loaded. Witherspoon is getting 25% of his new money before playing any of his new contract years, which start in 2028. He has 37.88% of his new money through his first new contract year in 2028. In a neutral four-year extension that’s neither front-loaded or back-loaded, there would be 25% of the new money through the first new contract year, 50% of the new money through the second new contract year and 75% of the new money through the third new contract year.
There are two other players in recent years that have become the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback with four-year extensions while having two years remaining on a rookie contract: Patrick Surtain II in 2024 and Sauce Gardner in 2025. The Patriots would probably like the cash flow for Gonzalez to be closer to their respective deals than Witherspoon’s.
The chart below compares the cash-flow percentages of the three players after each year of their contracts.
The Patriots may find setting new benchmarks for both total guarantees and money fully guaranteed at signing problematic as well. Witherspoon is the only one of the three to do both with these salary-guarantee metrics. Gardner and Surtain each got record-setting overall guarantees but did not rank among the top five for cornerbacks with fully guaranteed money when their deals were done.
It should be noted that Derek Stingley Jr. established new cornerback benchmarks for these two contract metrics when he became the NFL’s first $30 million-per-year defensive back in March 2025 with a three-year, $90 million extension from the Houston Texans. Just like Gardner, Surtain and Witherspoon, Stingley had two years left on his rookie contract before signing his extension.
The first two years are fully guaranteed in each of these contracts. Gardner, Stingley and Surtain’s third- and fourth-year salary guarantees vest a year early. For example, Stingley’s injury-guaranteed 2027 base salary became fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2026 league year, which was March 15.
Witherspoon’s guarantees after his second contract year don’t work the same way. The Seahawks have a policy against this type of early vesting for guarantees. Witherspoon’s injury-guaranteed 2028 and 2029 salaries become fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the waiver period in each respective year. The fifth day of the waiver period is five days after the completion of the Super Bowl putting the date in the middle of February (i.e., February 2028 for the 2028 contract year). Witherspoon’s player-friendly cash flow is probably the trade-off Seattle makes in order to have a more team-friendly guarantee vesting schedule.
The Patriots have a favorable guarantee vesting schedule in defensive tackle Milton Williams’ four-year, $104 million contract. The $12 million of Williams’ $21 million 2027 base salary that’s guaranteed for injury at signing doesn’t become fully guaranteed until next March 13 of the third day of the 2027 league year. An easy concession the Patriots can make is having Gonzalez’s guarantee vesting mirror Gardner’s, Stingley’s, and Surtain’s.
Another structural sticking point could be New England’s recent insistence on massive per-game roster bonuses in veteran contracts. The primary benefit of the roster bonuses is they provide the Patriots some financial relief with injuries. The per-game amount is only payable if the player is on the active list for that particular game.
Williams was New England’s highest-paid player at $26 million per year before wide receiver A.J. Brown was acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles in June. His four-year deal has $8.5 million of per-game roster bonuses, including $2.55 million each ($150,000 for each game active) in 2027 and 2028.
The Patriots already have the largest per-game roster bonuses in cornerback contracts. The three-year, $54 million deal Carlton Davis signed in 2025 has $1.275 million ($75,000 for each game active) annually.
The largest amount of per-game roster bonuses among the NFL’s highest-paid cornerbacks is the $850,000 ($50,000 for each game active) annually beginning next year in Witherspoon’s contract. Gardner has $750,000 in the extension years of his contract (2027 through 2030). McDuffie has $680,000 in 2027, 2028 and 2029. Surtain’s contract only has $510,000 in each of the last two years of his deal, 2028 and 2029. Stingley’s contract contains $500,000 annually starting in 2026.
It wouldn’t be surprising for the Patriots to insist that Gonzalez’s contract has significantly larger per-game roster bonuses than Witherspoon’s. Once teams have established structural conventions with contracts, they do not like to deviate from them.
The Patriots will contend that the exorbitant per-game roster bonuses are necessary because of durability concerns. Gonzalez missed the final 13 games of his rookie season in 2023 because of a torn labrum in his right shoulder that required surgery. He also missed the first three games of the 2025 regular season with a hamstring injury.
Stingley has the smallest annual amount among these highly paid cornerbacks despite playing the fewest games in their first three NFL seasons. He missed 14 games collectively during his rookie and second seasons primarily because of hamstring injuries before playing every game as a third-year player.
A record 10 first-round picks have had contracts extended after playing three seasons in 2026. This dates to 2014 when the initial first-round draft class under the rookie wage implemented in 2011 became eligible to sign new deals. The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks reset the wide receiver market with 2023 first-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s four-year, $168.6 million extension, averaging $42.15 million per year, in March in addition to Witherspoon’s contract.
It would be quite a contrast in the season opener with Seattle having two 2023 first-round picks signed long term and Gonzalez playing his fourth year under his rookie contract. A more eyebrow-raising look would be Gonzalez borrowing a page from seven-time original ballot Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey’s playbook with the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2019 season when Ramsey was trying to force a trade, where a mysterious “injury” prevents him from playing until there’s a resolution to his satisfaction.