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Apparently, the New England Patriots are very serious about locking up Christian Gonzalez for the long term.
“We love Christian Gonzalez. We love him as a player and as a person. That’s why we made him an offer that makes him the highest-paid player ever to hold that position in the NFL and, coincidentally, it’s the highest contract in Patriots franchise history,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said Saturday when asked about Gonzalez, who is eligible for an extension, at the team’s training camp, according to ESPN.
“So we’re happy to have drafted him, and he’s developed here, and we hope he’ll be with us for a long time.”
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said contract negotiations with Gonzalez were “ongoing” Friday. The contract to beat for an NFL cornerback, both in terms of total money and average annual value, is Trent McDuffie’s four-year, $124 million contract with the Los Angeles Rams ($31 million AAV), which also included a record $100 million guaranteed for a cornerback.
Meanwhile, the contract to beat in Patriots history, both in terms of total money and average annual value, is defensive tackle Milton Williams’ four-year, $104 million contract ($26 million AAV), which he signed with the franchise in March 2025.
Regarding Gonzalez, the future fourth-year cornerback is coming off a 2025 campaign where he earned his first career Pro Bowl, totaling 10 passes defensed, 69 combined tackles and just one missed tackle in 14 regular season games, according to Pro Football Focus; he missed three games with a hamstring injury.
Then, in New England’s four playoff games, Gonzalez totaled an NFL-high seven passes defensed in the postseason and threw a game-winning interception against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game with 2:11 left in the fourth quarter.
The year before (2024), Gonzalez threw two interceptions and recorded 11 passes defended, after his 2023 rookie campaign was cut short after four games due to a shoulder injury. New England selected Gonzalez with the No. 17 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Oregon.
