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The New England Patriots are apparently very serious about securing Christian González long-term.
“We love Christian Gonzalez. We love him as a player and as a person. That’s why we’ve made him an offer that makes him the highest-paid player to ever play 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 glad we picked him and he developed here, and we hope he’s with us for a long time.”
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said contract negotiations with Gonzalez were “ongoing” on Friday. The contract to beat for an NFL cornerback in both 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 top contract in Patriots history in both total money and average annual value is four-year, $104 million ($26 million AAV) defensive tackle Milton Williams, who signed with the franchise in March 2025.
As for Gonzalez, the fourth-year cornerback-to-be is coming off a 2025 campaign in which he earned the first Pro Bowl nod of his career, totaling 10 passes defensed, 69 combined tackles and just one missed tackle in 14 regular-season games, per Pro Football Focus; He missed three games due to a hamstring injury.
Then, in New England’s four postseason games, González totaled an NFL-high seven passes defensed in the postseason and recorded a game-clinching interception against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game with 2:11 left in the fourth quarter.
The year before (2024), González suffered two interceptions and recorded 11 passes defended, which came after his rookie campaign in 2023 was cut short after four games due to a shoulder injury. New England selected Gonzalez with the 17th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Oregon.
