The issue with Bedard is if you've listened to him over the years it's pretty clear he knows plenty about the Patriots but barely watches the rest of the league.
He doesn't seem to have any idea how good Christian Gonzalez is compared to his peers at the CB which is one of the 3/4 best in football and it's not really in question.
He's only about to turn 24 i think it sends a bad message if you pick a guy in the 1st round he makes an all pro team and has pretty much been a top 10 corner since the day he arrived in the league and you won't pay him but you'll pay 29 year old AJ Brown who shot his way out of town.
Even if you get 2 first round picks the chances that one of them is as good as Christian Gonzalez has to be less than 20% even that is generous, you're trading a franchise cornerstone for 2 lottery tickets because you're cheap.
Krafts need to stop living in the world they can cheap out and where Brady can fix everything, having a player that good he needs paid top of the market isn't a bad thing it's exactly what you pray happens the night you draft them.
The ONLY thing the Krafts have to pay Gonzo is $4MM for this season and $10 or 12MM next year or around there. The ONLY immediate new money that can come Christian's way is through a signing bonus. Don't forget that caveat.
Right now, most of leverage lies with the team. He is under contract for 2 more years on a deal he signed and agreed to. Giving him ANY extension is a reward for good play. A gesture of good faith in a way toward the player from the team. It is NOT an obligation (though it is usually smart to do it and so the Pats are.)
The issue isn't how much per year Gonzo is going to get in 2028, The issue now is just how much the signing bonus is going to be and how it fits into the salary cap planning the next 2 season in conjunction with the impending Maye extension.
IMHO, The agents and the team are basically trying to create a deal where Gonzo gets lifetime financial security in a single payment and for giving him that kind of wealth the team gets some kind of consideration for given him something in the range of $30-40MM in June instead of the $4MM they are obligated to pay him. The problem I see is the agents are incentivized to need a "market busting" deal for their OWN selfish reasons rather than what's in the interest of Gonzales or the team.
This is what I would recommend. Christian should report to all the mandatory stuff. Go to all the meetings and practices, but don't suit up and practice, or do anything that risks injury until the deal is signed but do all the other stuff to show good faith and that you want to be there with your teammates. You also want as short a deal as possible (like to 2031) so you can get another contract while you still have prime years left.
For the team you give him what will be perceived as a "market deal" and let people know it. The more reasonable the deal the bigger percentage of guaranteed money you offer. The bigger the numbers the small percentage. But I think the starting number for the signing bonus is $30MM. We all know you can create big money deals where the money is never seen. Just remember Diggs' 3 year $69MM deal we all thought was too much, ended up being a one year $18MM deal IIRC.
These kinds of complex deals take time, but in the meantime, there is a middle ground where neither side has to be an *******. They can play nice. Where each side is a good guy, yet both sides protecting their own interests as well. Then it can take as long as it takes to works something out. This will be the best way to have Gonzales ready to play when the deal gets done.
