The Seahawks and Patriots are set to open the season on Sept. 9, and the timing adds another layer to a matchup that already ended with Seattle on top in the Super Bowl. New England has months to sit with that result and chase revenge, but there’s also a quieter competition unfolding that could shape both teams’ future: contract talks for Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez.
Both cornerbacks are working toward long-term extensions with the teams that drafted them in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and neither has a deal done yet. One possible reason is simple enough: each side may be waiting to see what the other lands so it can push for a little more.
Witherspoon has built his case quickly. He’s already established himself as one of the NFL’s best corners, and that puts him in position to chase top-of-market money at his position. The market has already been pushed up several times this offseason.
Trent McDuffie reset things with a four-year, $124 million extension that included $100 million guaranteed after being traded by the Kansas City Chiefs back in March. Then Denzel Ward raised the bar again just a few weeks ago, signing a two-year, $62.2 million extension that made him the highest-paid player at the position.
Neither Witherspoon nor Gonzalez would see a new deal kick in until the 2028 season, once their fifth-year options are behind them. Even so, this is the moment to cash in, and both players have earned the leverage after rising to the top of their position over their first three seasons.
The paths they took to get here weren’t the same. Gonzalez missed most of his rookie year, appearing in just four games because of injury.
Witherspoon, on the other hand, was a Pro Bowl corner from the start. Gonzalez earned his first Pro Bowl nod this past season and was named to the All-Pro second team in 2024.
Witherspoon took his place on the roster in 2025 and got the last laugh when Seattle beat New England in the Super Bowl.
59 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery (16 games)
For now, the exact pecking order matters less than the fact that both players get paid. But in the short term, that market squeeze may be part of why Witherspoon’s extension hasn’t crossed the finish line yet.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said last month he believes the team will get it done.
“I can tell you this: I couldn’t have any more confidence in our process and all the people involved in the whole operation,” Macdonald said last month via ESPN’s Brady Henderson. “I think that’s the best way to describe it. I’m just really confident right now in where we are, in Spoon and all his people and the way we do business, so I’m just confident.”
If Witherspoon is going to end up as the league’s highest-paid cornerback, he may need Gonzalez’s deal to land first. A contract in the neighborhood of $32 million per year for Gonzalez would make a figure like $32.5 million per year for Witherspoon a logical next step.
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