Both Christian Gonzalez of the New England Patriots and Devon Witherspoon of the Seattle Seahawks have the same agency representing them. Why does this matter? Because both players agreed to massive extensions before the 2026 season.
Gonzalez and his representatives agreed to the deal very late on Monday. The deal, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, will pay the cornerback as much as $135 million over four years between 2028 and 2031. The contract is the highest ever for a corner, surpassing the previous high set by Witherspoon. $102 million is guaranteed.
This matters to the Seahawks because Gonzalez's Patriots play Witherspoon's Seattle team in Week 1 on Wednesday at Lumen Field.
Seattle Seahawks will be taking on a happy Christian Gonzalez in Week 1
Some had speculated that perhaps Gonzalez would skip playing because he was unhappy with his contract situation. That seemed like a stretch because, ultimately, it doesn't help the player's contract position, but now that he is paid, he is going to want to further prove his worth. A happy player is normally a productive one.
Even though Seattle dominated New England in the Super Bowl, Gonzalez did an excellent job of covering wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Throughout the playoffs last season, in the fourth quarter of games, Gonzalez's various receivers were targeted 10 times, but only four of those passes were completed for 32 yards. The cornerback didn't allow a touchdown and had an interception.
Against JSN, Gonzalez allowed just one completion on two targets for 16 yards. The play did result in a first down, and Smith-Njigba wasn't completely healthy, as he was struggling with a minor ankle injury.
The Patriots player was targeted three other times when covering Cooper Kupp or Rashid Shaheed, but none of those passes were completed. In total, Gonzalez gave up just one completion when targeted five times in the Super Bowl. Thankfully, the Seattle Seahawks won the game anyway.
Of course, the teams are slightly different entering Week 1, though both should be good again. Seattle lost several good free agents, and New England added elite wide receiver AJ Brown. Week 1 should be a lot closer than the Super Bowl was.
The key matchup could be Christian Gonzalez against Jaxon Smith-Njigba, especially as both players got huge extensions before the season began and are going to want to show fans how great they can be. Seattle can still win the game, but a very happy Gonzalez could find a way to win most of his individual matchups.
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