Devon Witherspoon signed a four-year, $132 million extension with the Seattle Seahawks Saturday, making him the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback with more than $101 million guaranteed, according to a report Saturday morning by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The deal immediately raises the price for Christian Gonzalez, the New England Patriots cornerback who shares Witherspoon’s agent and is seeking his own extension amid stalled negotiations with New England.
Witherspoon had been playing under the fifth-year option Seattle exercised on his rookie contract, a deal worth roughly $21.16 million for the 2027 season. The Seahawks and Witherspoon worked toward a longer-term agreement throughout the offseason and training camp before Saturday’s announcement.
Witherspoon’s $33 million annual average tops the previous cornerback record, a four-year, $124 million deal Los Angeles Rams standout Trent McDuffie signed back in March, according to ESPN’s earlier reporting.
Patriots correspondent Mike Reiss of ESPN flagged the connection within minutes of the Witherspoon news, writing that the extension “sets the benchmark for potential Christian Gonzalez/Patriots deal.”
Adam Schefter followed with a dispatch of his own, reporting that Witherspoon’s deal has reset the cornerback market entirely. Gonzalez and Witherspoon share an agent, Reggie Johnson of WIN Sports Group, and the Patriots have made little progress with Gonzalez, Schefter noted.
Gonzalez’s Contract Standoff With the Patriots
GettyDevon Witherspoon #21 of the Seattle Seahawks.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft raised the stakes publicly in late July, telling reporters at training camp that New England had offered Gonzalez a deal that would make him the highest-paid cornerback in league history and was also the richest contract in franchise history, in comments reported by NFL.com.
Gonzalez has kept his side of the negotiation guarded. Asked directly whether becoming the NFL’s top-paid cornerback mattered to him, he said, “I keep that between my team and the front office,” in comments to 98.5 The Sports Hub.
The two sides were not close on a new deal as of late July, with Gonzalez’s camp said to be targeting a contract that would top Witherspoon’s number by a wide margin, according to NBC Sports Boston, a claim later echoed by Pro Football Rumors. New England retains leverage, with two seasons left on Gonzalez’s rookie deal plus a potential franchise tag down the road.
Witherspoon and Gonzalez by the Numbers
Both players entered the league in the 2023 draft, Witherspoon fifth overall out of Illinois, Gonzalez 17th overall out of Oregon. Witherspoon has logged three straight Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl LX ring, while Gonzalez earned his first Pro Bowl in 2025 after a second-team All-Pro season in 2024.
Health has separated the two more than ability. Witherspoon has missed time to a hamstring issue, a hip injury and a 2025 knee injury, yet he has stayed available for the bulk of each season. Gonzalez lost most of his rookie year to a torn labrum and dislocated shoulder, then dealt with a concussion and a hamstring injury that cost him the start of 2025.
Witherspoon grew up in Pensacola, Florida, and didn’t start playing football until high school. He walked into Illinois as an unranked recruit and left as a consensus All-American. Gonzalez, born in Carrollton, Texas, transferred from Colorado to Oregon before becoming a first-team All-Pac-12 pick, and he ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Seattle and New England already met once this year. The Seahawks beat the Patriots in Super Bowl LX, with both corners playing key roles. Now their next matchup plays out in front offices, and Saturday’s deal put a concrete number on it.
What Does Massive Devon Witherspoon Deal Mean For Patriots’ Christian Gonzalez?