SEATTLE — Deadlines spur action, as always.
After months of speculation and even some dire reports in the last 24 hours, the Patriots and cornerback Christian Gonzalez have reached an agreement on a contract extension that will make him the new highest-paid player at his position.
The initial reports only say four years, $135 million, and $102 million guaranteed. At the time of publishing, there were no reports of guaranteed cash at signing. If that holds, it will likely be because Gonzalez and his agents backed down a little bit at the last minute. And they likely got more in future years, which Devon Witherspoon did not.
BSJ ANALYSIS (UPDATED NOW THAT THE CONTRACT TERMS ARE KNOWN) - GONZALEZ GAVE
Pay no attention to the carnival barkers that have been beating this dead horse for months, and those who will continue to say the Patriots already did damage by upholding their reputation.
They are wrong. Nobody cares, especially the players. In the end, Gonzalez got his deal. That's all that matters.
I told you I was expecting a deal on Labor Day. Well, it's 10 p.m. Monday right now in Seattle, where the Patriots landed hours ago. The prospect of Gonzalez taking the field — or not taking the field — on national television, while Witherspoon did for the Seahawks, would have been a national embarrassment for the Krafts. And they don't like to be embarrassed, especially on a showcase TV game.
The Krafts proved they would go big in the first two years of a deal when they gave Milton Williams $51 million two offseasons ago. They needed to go at least that far for Gonzalez. I'm willing to bet Gonzalez got about $55 million in the first two years, but got some guarantees in Years 3 and 4 that Witherspoon did not (he got, in essence, a two-year deal).
It's over, finally.
Now it's on to Seattle and the 2026 season, and then Drake Maye's contract extension next offseason.
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UPDATED WITH ALBERT BREER'S CONTRACT TERMS:
• $33 million signing bonus.
• $53.928 million first two years—fully guaranteed.
• 2028 money becomes fully guaranteed in March 2027.
• 2029 money becomes fully guaranteed in March 2028.
• Gonzalez gets $33M raise over what was left on the last 2 years of his rookie deal—same as Witherspoon's raise.
• Gonzalez got early vesting dates on '28/'29, which McDuffie got, Witherspoon did not.
• That makes 4 years and $96.93M virtually guaranteed.
Pretty close on what I thought the first two years guaranteed would be. It's more than Milton Williams, which was a must for me.
It's pretty clear that Gonzalez gave in the end, if he was insisting on topping Devon Witherspoon's $59 million guaranteed at signing. But he got early vesting guarantees that Witherspoon did not get. Gonzalez is here for at least two years, if not the full four.
I wonder who talked to Gonzalez on the long flight out to Seattle. Was it a veteran like Kevin Byard or Morgan Moses? Was Robert Kraft on the flight? (I doubt it)
I'm guessing it was Vrabel and he said something along these lines: "If you don't give a little on your end, I can tell you what's going to happen: you play this year, and then you'll be traded to a place like Cleveland. Not everything is about money. We love you, think you can be the best corner in the game under our tutelage. You're almost there. You can play your whole career with Drake, compete for Super Bowls, go to the Hall of Fame. Door No. 2 is oblivion. Your choice. Not everything is about every last dollar. There are a lot of veterans who will tell you that."