09/08/26 09:18:00
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09/08 09:17 CDT Patriots make Christian Gonzalez the NFL's highest-paid
cornerback, AP sources say
Patriots make Christian Gonzalez the NFL's highest-paid cornerback, AP sources
say
By ROB MAADDI
AP Pro Football Writer
New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez has the long-term job
security he's been seeking all offseason.
Gonzalez has agreed to a four-year, $135 million contract with the New England
Patriots that makes him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history, two people
with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because the team hasn't announced
the contract. One of the people said Gonzalez is getting $102 million
guaranteed.
Gonzalez celebrated his new pact with the Patriots, reposting a report of the
deal and writing, "Thank You Lord!" along with two praying hands emojis.
Gonzalez surpassed Devon Witherspoon's new contract from the Seattle Seahawks.
Witherspoon received a four-year, $132 million deal with $101 million
guaranteed last month.
The Patriots and Seahawks meet in a Super Bowl rematch to kick off the NFL
season on Wednesday.
A first-round pick by Bill Belichick in 2023, Gonzalez was a second-team AP
All-Pro in 2024 and made the Pro Bowl in 2025.
The Patriots picked up Gonzalez's fifth-year option in April, meaning he will
make just over $18 million in the final year of his rookie deal in 2027. The
new pact will then begin in 2028.
Gonzalez has maintained the same posture throughout the negotiation process
that began in March, showing up for all team activities since mandatory
minicamp in May. But the length of the contract talks and his absence on the
sideline for preseason games --- even though New England's starters didn't play
in any of the three --- created some uncertainty about whether he'd be
available for the regular season if the situation wasn't resolved.
"Like I've said over these past weeks, days that I've talked to ya'll, I'm
focused on one day at a time. Kind of like, every other week, that's how this
business goes," Gonzalez said over the weekend.
The Patriots now will have the anchor of their secondary, who since playing in
only four games as a rookie in 2023 after a shoulder injury has started 30
games of the past two seasons, logging two interceptions and 21 pass breakups.
But the 2025 Pro Bowler's ability to lockdown opponents' top receiving threats
is a metric that doesn't show up on a stat sheet. In last season's Super Bowl
loss to Seattle, Gonzalez served as the primary defender on Seahawks receiver
Jaxon Smith-Nijigba, helping hold him to four receptions for 27 yards on 10
targets.
Team owner Robert Kraft said in July that they had offered Gonzalez a contract
that would make him the highest paid player in history at his position, but the
two sides continued to differ on the exact terms of a new deal.
Those differences have now been resolved, just in time for the new season.
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AP Sports Writer Kyle Hightower contributed to this report.
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See AP's full NFL coverage here
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