The Patriots paid Christian Gonzalez the massive contract he was demanding from the team in the lead-up to the season, and not a minute too soon.
Gonzalez is now the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL, signing a four-year, $135 million contract with New England, which includes $102 million in guaranteed money, according to multiple reports.
The total figure and guaranteed value are both industry records, per NFL Network.
This extension seemed far from a sure thing, as the Patriots only got the deal done in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, the day before the their regular-season opener against the Seahawks.
Insiders reported in August that the Patriots did not want to match or beat the contract the Seahawks had just given Devon Witherspoon, which at the time made him the highest-paid cornerback.
Witherspoon reset the market with his four-year, $132 million deal and gave Gonzalez a new target.
“The Patriots haven’t gone there,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on the Pat McAfee Show on Aug. 27. “And they weren’t there before, and they don’t appear to be going there right now.”
Gonzalez didn’t hold out or hold in; instead, he showed up to training camp to prepare for the season while his management negotiates with team ownership.
“It’s frustrating, but I’m focused on the season,” Gonzalez said on Aug. 25.
Fans and Boston media have been irate that their top cornerback was still without a deal well into September, repeatedly calling back to owner Robert Kraft’s unwillingness to spend big money on the team when Tom Brady was in his prime.
“I don’t understand why he is so cheap with this stuff,” Patriots fan and podcaster Bill Simmons said on his eponymous podcast this week when discussing the Gonzalez contract negotiation.
From 2014-23, the Patriots spent the least amount of money among all teams in the NFL on their roster, as the ownership group ponied up $1.62 billion, more than $30 million less per season than the Eagles (most money spent) did in the time span.
Gonzalez is expected to be active for Wednesday’s Super Bowl rematch to open the 2026 regular season.
