How Devon Witherspoon's record Seahawks contract could impact Christian Gonzalez's Patriots negotiations originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Christian Gonzalez's contract situation continues to be one of the storylines of Patriots preseason — and now, he may have even higher financial demands.
Weeks after the Browns' Denzel Ward reset the cornerback market, making an NFL-record $31.1 million per year as a cornerback on his two-year deal, the Seahawks one-upped that contract. On Saturday, ESPN reported that Seattle has agreed to a four-year, $132 million extension with Devon Witherspoon, making him the new highest-paid cornerback in NFL history at $33 million per year.
Witherspoon, 25, was a member of the same 2023 draft class as Gonzalez. While Witherspoon landed in Seattle at pick No. 5, Gonzalez came off the board at No. 17. A few years later, the two cornerbacks met in the Super Bowl, with Witherspoon's Seahawks coming out on top in a dominant effort in February.
Both Witherspoon and Gonzalez represent two of the league's up-and-coming star cornerbacks, but Witherspoon's record contract will likely only give Gonzalez more leverage in his own talks with New England. At the start of camp, Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters that the team was looking to make Gonzalez the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. Witherspoon's deal, however, means there's a new number to meet in order to obtain that title.
Per ESPN, one of the holdups with Witherspoon's extension was that Gonzalez shares an agent with him, with both seeking an extension. But ultimately, it was Witherspoon who got his contract first. Now, Gonzalez may look for an AAV north of $33 million to snatch the "highest-paid cornerback" title.
Comparatively, Witherspoon is a three-time Pro Bowl cornerback who has totaled two interceptions, 249 tackles and 32 passes defended over his first three seasons. Gonzalez reached an arguably higher peak in 2024 though, named a Second-Team All-Pro before a Pro Bowl nod in 2025. He has three interceptions, 145 tackles and 24 passes defended over three seasons.
Witherspoon's deal was a notable development in Gonzalez's own negotiations — and with the Patriots' defensive star absent from some team activities recently, it will continue to dominate the team's preseason storylines.