Christian Gonzalez gets his $135 million Patriots contract at last minute after testy offseason
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.This 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.Reports from multiple insiders in August said 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 in the NFL.With Witherspoon resetting the market with his four-year, $132 million deal, the contract Gonzalez would command got even more expensive.“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, 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 to 2023, 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. Gonzale...