Seattle Seahawks’ Devon Witherspoon Contract Talks Get Patriots Twist

The Seattle Seahawks entered training camp facing one of the NFL’s most expensive negotiations with the situation of All-Pro cornerback Devon Witherspoon.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft may have pushed the price a little higher, or at least made it harder for Seattle to control.

Kraft said Saturday that New England has offered Christian Gonzalez a contract that would make him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history and represent the largest contract in Patriots history.

No financial details were announced, but the offer would have to clear the $31 million annual average Trent McDuffie received from the Los Angeles Rams in March.

Albert Breer connected the announcement to Witherspoon, noting that the two cornerbacks share an agent and are positioned to move the market together.

“This is really interesting and should add a little color” to both negotiations, Breer wrote. “The corner market is due for a reset.”

Witherspoon’s representatives can now point to more than a projection or a completed deal from a player of less value or in another draft class.

They have a confirmed, record-setting offer for another elite cornerback selected in 2023.

Patriots Offer Gives Witherspoon New Leverage

The working expectation had been that Seattle would finish its deal first.

Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday that the Seahawks and Witherspoon had been in “intense negotiations” for months. He identified approximately $32 million per year as the likely benchmark and said he expected Witherspoon’s agreement to set the market for Gonzalez.

Kraft’s announcement complicates that order.

The Patriots have publicly established that they are willing to move beyond McDuffie’s contract.

So now, Witherspoon’s camp can use that information to argue that Seattle’s proposal must lead the next tier rather than narrowly surpass the current record.

The annual average may only be one part of the disagreement.

Seattle’s reported target already lands near $32 million, which would make Witherspoon the league’s highest-paid cornerback.

Guarantees, signing bonus, cash flow over the first three years and injury protection — compared to Gonzalez — could determine whether the sides amicably agree.

Both teams also have leverage.

Seattle and New England exercised the fifth-year options on their 2023 first-round picks, keeping Witherspoon and Gonzalez under contract through 2027.

Neither club faces an immediate threat of free agency, but the agents of the players may force a waiting game.

Seattle Has Reasons to Finish Before Gonzalez

Witherspoon has built a strong case for the record.

He recorded 72 tackles, seven passes defended, one interception and one fumble recovery across 12 games in 2025.

He earned a third consecutive Pro Bowl selection, received second-team All-Pro recognition and was a needed cog in Seattle’s Super Bowl-winning defense.

The Seahawks have also shown a willingness to reward their young core.

They signed Jaxon Smith-Njigba to a four-year, $168.6 million extension in March, making him the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver at the time.

Rapoport described Seattle’s effort to extend Witherspoon as “extraordinary.” And Kraft’s public declaration raises the urgency behind that effort.

If Gonzalez signs first, Seattle may have to negotiate against an actual record instead of a projected one.

The Seahawks would also face the tricky task of explaining why their three-time Pro Bowl cornerback should accept less than a peer represented by the same agent.

Completing Witherspoon’s deal first would let Seattle set the benchmark and avoid chasing New England’s final structure.

But who knows what will happen, and when, in New England.

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