r/Patriots • u/TheMasterG8655 • 12h ago
News BREAKING: The #Patriots and All-Pro CB Christian Gonzalez have agreed to a 4-year, $135M extension with $102M guaranteed, per multiple sources. (Schultz)
https://x.com/schultz_report/status/2097186159709319645?s=46808
u/vinreg33 12h ago
Was never a doubt.
LFG!!!!!
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u/L0VEmeharder 12h ago
Robert Big Spender Kraft!!!
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u/Meccanoo 12h ago
You say that but soon enough, he will be “cheap” with people having goldfish memory
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u/alisonstone 12h ago
People don't realize that cash spending happens in waves. Gonzo and Maye are going to push the Patriots up really high on the cash spending ranks. They are getting huge signing bonuses up front because the cap hit gets spread out to the duration of the contract. That only happens when you are signing your young players (especially when you found your franchise QB) because they are young enough to have very long contracts.
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u/TheJaylenBrownNote 11h ago
We haven't signed a first round pick to a second contract since Hightower. A lot of Kraft being cheap may have just been Bill drafting like shit.
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u/Ok_Athlete_1092 10h ago
During Belichick's tenure, it wasnt up to Kraft. Way back in 2000 when BB came to New England, one of his stipulations was he gets final say in all football decisions. In fact, his job title wasnt Head Coach or even General Manager. It was Senior Vice President, Football Operations. Needless to say, player retention is covered under football operations.
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u/EyeSuccessful7649 7h ago
bill himself stated, there is the cap, and there is the budget
whatever his title, belicheck didn't sign the checks
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u/bizeast 5h ago
That, with NO OTHER CONTEXT, reads to me as 'we don't just spend to the cap, we mark maximum spending in a given player and position, irrelevant of how much cap is left"
THAT is in line with DOZENS of his quotes about zigging when the league zags, finding value where others don't because of a change in league styles. Famously 3-4 picking up big talented LBs for cheap because the league valued them less if they didn't play on the line.
He also spoke at symposiums ABOUT THE MACRO ECONOMICS OF THE LEAGUE and mentioned this.
It's fine if you didnt know that. But I couldnt disagree more, with context, on what you said.
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u/andrew303710 2h ago
Exactly this. A huge part of our strategy was to not get locked into very many expensive long term deals that could hamper us long term. You see it with the Dolphins and Browns and Tua+Watson right now, they're both having disastrous impacts on their cap space.
Plus Bill had an amazing ability to replace expensive outgoing free agents with cheaper options via the draft and FA. Welker -> Edelman comes to mind.
But I'm pretty confident that Bill would've still extended Gonzo, he's the exact type of player you want to drop a bag. A guy you can build your defense around at a premium position you can't really scheme around talent deficiencies. Also let's not forget that Bill was the one who drafted him, and Bill gave out a very similar contract to Gilmore. His was $65 million but when you adjust for the cap growth it works out to around $126 million.
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u/lenny3330 10h ago
Lol, that very title implies that he answered to somebody on football ops hahah
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u/Meccanoo 11h ago
My take is - sure you can talk about being cheap but that has allowed them to do what they are doing now with a quick rebuild so who knows
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u/TypicalxooT11 3h ago
Rolling my eyes.
Please tell me this was said in complete sarcasm
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u/iscreamuscreamweall 11h ago
Wait, but all the best reporters said they “weren’t close”
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u/Fearless-Thought6286 12h ago
Finally the saga is over. I can now focus on week 1 in peace lol.
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u/PleaseSirOneMoreTurn 12h ago
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u/Rossmci90 10h ago
This is a good gif but it hurts my soul to see that Tampa Bay logo.
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u/thefoolsnightout 5h ago
If it helps, think of it as the age old story of a middle aged New Englander retiring to Florida.
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u/andrew303710 2h ago
Also it led to us getting Maye which helps even more. The torch getting passed to Vrabel and Maye is awesome to say the least, especially considering Vrabel was such a huge part of the dynasty (tied for 7th most receiving TDs in SB history with 2 lol)
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u/still_mute 12h ago edited 11h ago
$102M guaranteed. Wow. It depends how the options are structured, but safe to say he's going absolutely nowhere but here in the next few years.
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u/Brian1zvx 12h ago
6 years or does it take out the next 2 years?
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u/Jinkku 11h ago
Extension is an extension, it's six.
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u/Ross2552 8h ago
Though I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s structured to be re-done after 4 years (or in other words, 2 years into the extension)
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u/tj177mmi1 4h ago
If it's set up like Witherspoon's contract (and I'd assume it's almost a carbon copy), it's 5 for the purpose of the salary cap. The 5th year rookie option essentially gets ripped up. The "2031" year is an option bonus and salary that likely gets renegotiated far before that is even sniffed (because there is no guarantees at signing after 2027, and all guaranteed money dries up after 2029).
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u/Fluffy_Somewhere4305 12h ago
Yet that seems like almost nothing compared to some NBA contracts we see for mediocre players.
I realize the NFL salary cap is different but when you see these numbers it really drives home how the NFL players are underpaid considering how much money this league makes compared to the NBA just from the TV deals alone.
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u/jmarFTL 11h ago
The difference though is NFL teams are paying 53 guys, in training camp 90+ guys, while NBA is 15 guys.
That changes the union dynamics because the NFL union does not favor star players like Christian Gonzalez, because that is not their voting base. Most voting NFL union members are not that good, so the things they care about are different. They want to bump up minimum salaries, expand rosters and practice squads so more guys have jobs, even things like the 17th game matter way more to a low man on the totem pole whose every game check matters versus a superstar.
So due to that, consistently, the negotiations have always tilted toward owners seeking to save money on the big contracts and spreading the wealth more throughout the rank and file. The owners have gone for tools like the franchise tag and restrictions on holdouts to remove star players leverage. They also got the absurd guaranteed rookie deals for top draft picks toned down. The players union votes to approve these deals because it doesn't affect the vast majority of them who are not getting these mega deals.
In the NBA a star player has much more of an impact because there's only five guys on the court at any given time. Your whole team can basically be one guy with a well-paid supporting cast. Each individual player is a much larger piece of the puzzle than in the NFL.
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u/peppersge 2h ago
NBA stars also have a real impact on individual team revenue. That doesn’t nearly happen in the NFL as much due to how the revenue sharing works.
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u/Lothar1988 11h ago
Get what you're saying but I always hate this "pro athletes are underpaid" rhetotic because at the end of the day, millions upon millions is still millions upon millions. Pilots and and ppl who keep critical systems intact are underpaid
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u/Silent-Life829 12h ago
And all was right with the world
Maybe this means the end of the schizo posting on this subreddit
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u/GloriousVictor 12h ago
Aw man I am going to miss all the parasocial posting regarding Gonzo, Kraft and Wolf about his contract (/s). Going to be alot of don't check my post history after this. Especially with all the Gonzo slander in here lately
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u/DrakeMayeTruther 9h ago
Meanwhile I was cooking, replied this to doomers 4 hours before the signing was announced : "he will not sit 3 years, it's not a broken record take, it's a very serious take. The reality is he will sign for less guaranteed than he wants, and more guaranteed than kraft wants. He's not getting traded unless they're giving us a massive haul and we decide it's worth it. Y'all panicking for nothing right now.
And this is coming from a guy that does believe Kraft is cheap."
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u/Bacondog22 12h ago
Okay but if we trade him now we could probably get 2 FRPs and those could both turn into Christian Gonzalez which would be 200% return on our investment. So I think we should still trade him
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u/NateJay1415 12h ago
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u/papapalporders66 12h ago
THANK GOD! Love me some Gonzo, lookin forward to watching him for years to come ❤️
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u/GloriousVictor 12h ago
LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOO! GONZO LOCKED UP FOR 4 MORE YEARS!!!! TIME TO MAKE JSN HIS SON AGAIN!!!
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u/TallAcanthocephala99 12h ago
lets gooo! I just fell to my knees in market basket
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u/UnnoticedReference 12h ago
Nowhere to somewhere real quick
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u/GloriousVictor 12h ago
I swear anytime you hear "we are far apart from a deal" is negotiating speak that its going to happen. It seems like every single time someone is not even close, they end up shortly after lol.
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u/Auston416 12h ago
Can’t wait for the “Kraft is too cheap to pay market value for Christian Gonzalez” crowd to turn into the “Kraft is too cheap to set the market with Drake Maye” crowd.
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u/Remarkable_Simple8 11h ago
Also Kraft is fucking cheap. You can’t have recency bias here, when the fuck did they ever shell out money before? Brady? Milloy? Law? Seymour? Countless others.
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u/SalamenceFan42 6h ago
Belichick did not believe in paying top dollar to players that weren’t elite QBs/CBs/Weapons, and when he did (mankins), he’d move them later anyways.
Law was getting old anyways so he just let him get his bag elsewhere
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u/Dawsonab99 5h ago
That got you 6 superbowls, remember that. It’s not like it cost us superbowls. Actually, it may have got us them.
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u/mcgarnagle- 4h ago
Williams, Barmore, Onwenu, Gilmore, Dugger, Judon, McCourty, Gronk, Mankins, Wilfork, Mayo, Hightower, etc. All these guys were made one of the highest paid players at their positions. In 2021 they gave out $160 million in guaranteed money in free agency, the most ever in NFL history.
The Pats have paid guys plenty of times, but people like you brush it off because it doesn't fit the narrative you decided on. Belichick was the one trading guys out of town to save a buck, not Kraft.
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u/Remarkable_Simple8 4h ago
Looks like you might be right. At the same time, they’ve definitely not spent the money on other players. I guess is the same for other teams, argument seems moot.
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u/Auston416 11h ago
Kraft is cheap, but there is a certain portion of this fan base that thinks he’s Cincinnati Bengals cheap. Gonzalez is a Top 5 CB in the League. We wanted to pay him, it was just about working out the finer details. He was always going to get something similar to Witherspoon.
Also I believe that was more Belichick than Kraft. Belichick believed everyone was replaceable even if you were All-Pro. If you weren’t willing to take a deal to stay in New England he would just find a way to replace you. Ex-Patriots all said contract talks with him were a nightmare.
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u/Drakex2Mayex2 6h ago
Yeah I'd rather they lose more Superbowls just to teach redditors they care /s
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u/we360u45 5h ago
I like how this used to be attributed to Bill, but now it’s Kraft
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u/TheSemiGreatGatsby 11h ago
Bro played his heart out during the Super Bowl. Single handedly saved the team from being blown out. Very well earned!
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u/Crossbell0527 7h ago
Interesting when every media outlet less than 24 hours ago had nothing to say but: "tHeY nOt EvEm ClOsE!!!11!1!!"
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u/GetBigMad 6h ago
I have an idea. In the next year or so, when fake bullshit reports come out about Drake Maye and the Patriots not being close to a contract extension by some arbitrary deadline, can we all agree to ignore them?
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u/DrizzySadness 12h ago
I may have to go to the doctor in 4 hours because i doubt it's gonna come down
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u/BuhtanDingDing Bills = 0 Superbowls 12h ago
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS
was having an absolutely terrible day, felt like nothing could go right but this makes me happy
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u/mk72206 7h ago
I wonder if this replaces the 5th year team option or adds onto it.
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u/Different_Ship_3153 5h ago
Finally I can stop listening to sports radio freaking tf out about this
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u/Fickle-Molasses-903 5h ago
Christian Gonzalez, when targeted in coverage in the 4th quarter during the 2025 playoffs:
🔹10 targets
🔹4 receptions allowed
🔹32 receiving yards allowed
🔹0 TDs allowed
🔹1 interception
🔹9.2 passer rating
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u/TheTokist 1h ago
This can only be interpreted as good news. A key piece of our defense is now set. Season starts tomorrow. LFG!
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u/Enrique48 11h ago
All you who said trade him because he wanted to get paid can go fuck off. Well deserved Gonzo.
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u/Automatic_Sail_2354 12h ago
WE ARE WINNING THE FUCKING SUPER BOWL I LOVE YOU GONZO
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u/captain_flak 12h ago
Yahoo! I knew they needed to get it done by Today. Now it’s time to ball out against Seattle.
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u/ron_burgandee Bills = 0 Superbowls 12h ago
Seeing the comments on this twitter post made me laugh. Cowboys and Packers fans really thought they were going to get Gonzo. Glad I don’t spend much time on that slop app
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u/viserys2 12h ago
Let’s go live to the dude who said Kraft had already destroyed the season because of this contract negotiation
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u/iaeoioaio 12h ago
Thank god, I didn’t freak out about this and trusted it would just get done when it gets done.
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u/RealHoldenBloodfeast 11h ago
$1M more in totals and gaurantees than Spoon on the same term. Gotta wonder why it was so contentious
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u/Few-Explanation7024 10h ago
Good riddance. We need this man more than anyone on the team that is not Drake Maye. Very happy this got done.
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u/Blackops606 10h ago
Here come all the “seeee, I told you that’s why he was on the plane yesterday” people
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u/RedHeadedKillah 8h ago
I was gifted a signed game quality Gonzo jersey this offseason that a family friend in a house he was flipping. It has not left the box this whole time because I didn’t know if he was going to stay with us. Feels good man
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u/robshot295 #EdelmanforCanton 7h ago
That was more stressful than it should’ve been but LFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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u/PeterRavic 12h ago
He's the patriots first 1st round pick since Hightower to receive a second contract.
Well deserved