Curran: "In my estimation... [Gonzo would like to] be treated as if he's at the table in 2027." [previous title: "say goodbye to gonzo"]

[TheRainMaker]

The report here by Bedard makes both Gonzalez and the Krafts seem unreasonable, and actually kind of loopy. Both of them.

This is exactly what happened in 1998 during the Curtis Martin saga. RB’s were extremely difficult to find back then and Martin was regarded among the best.

CB’s are extremely difficult to find now and Gonzalez is now considered among the best.

Patriots were in a win now window in the late 90’s. Losing Martin was the beginning of their downfall.

Pats are in a win now window today.

Bob is in a tough position again.

 

[XLIX]

This is exactly what happened in 1998 during the Curtis Martin saga. RB’s were extremely difficult to find back then and Martin was regarded among the best.

CB’s are extremely difficult to find now and Gonzalez is now considered among the best.

Patriots were in a win now window in the late 90’s. Losing Martin was the beginning of their downfall.

Pats are in a win now window today.

Bob is in a tough position again.

No one is going to poison pill us this time around.

 

[Wozzy]

what we are hearing is he is not looking to reset the market
he is looking to change how the market is paid.
as I said, very bad advice to take a $100m+ gamble

This is a lot like that report Travis Hunter wanted a piece of team ownership as a condition of being drafted. There was zero attribution or truth to it, but alarmist gossip mongers bought the lie and ran with it.

Gonzo is not practicing in joint practices or playing the preseason game… so apparently he’s getting good advice.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Was this even an actual report by Curran or just him theorizing...? I mean, it's Curran.

Here's the original quote, said during a TV segment: "The endgame is very simple. In my estimation, what my understanding is, Christian Gonzalez does not want his contract to be obsolete within seven months," Curran said on Arbella Early Edition. "When the new league year comes and the salary cap goes from $301 [million] to $330 million, the first corner who comes up under that new cap is going to sign for $34 [million], $35 [million]. So what Christian Gonzalez would like is not to be treated as if he's at the table in 2026, but be treated as if he's at the table in 2027."

Curran: Christian Gonzalez doesn't want contract to become 'obsolete'

One potential hang-up in Christian Gonzalez's contract negotiations with the Patriots? The corner might be concerned with the salary cap rising.

www.nbcsportsboston.com

Yep. I have really mixed feelings on this. Gonzalez is a great player, and he deserves to be paid as a top CB, but putting an accelerator in his contract would impact every future contract negotiation, and they can't put themselves in that position. I would tell his agent that if Gonzalez wants to wait until the cap increases again they will put off his contract negotiations until next season, but if he wants to be the highest paid CB in football this season then he can sign a deal that accomplishes that with no accelerator clause in it. If he doesn't like either option he can sit out.

 

[TheRainMaker]

This is a lot like that report Travis Hunter wanted a piece of team ownership as a condition of being drafted. There was zero attribution or truth to it, but alarmist gossip mongers bought the lie and ran with it.

Gonzo is not practicing in joint practices or playing the preseason game… so apparently he’s getting good advice.

That was Caleb Williams and there was truth to it. It was shut down because it's not possible. And he initially didn't want to go to Chicago, but Caleb did some damage control denying it.

Caleb Williams's team did indeed mention equity to agents last year (as they should have)

Last year, after the NFL slammed the door on giving equity to players or other team employees, multiple sources shared spontaneously with PFT a pair of interesting facts.

www.nbcsports.com

Book: Caleb Williams sought way around going to Chicago Bears

Quarterback Caleb Williams looked to find a way around the NFL's collective bargaining agreement in an effort to avoid being drafted by the Chicago Bears, details from a forthcoming book reveal.

www.espn.com

 

[n1997y]

Or how about when they're 50 and their head's so filled with CTE that they turn into someone else, and suicide's the best option? This literally just happened with Jordan Devey.

Jordan Devey was 38. Didn’t play football in high school, started in junior college. Played eight years in the NFL. Won a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots. Was a great family man and member of the community.

He killed himself on a Tuesday, was pronounced braindead onnWednesday.. Stayed on life support until Sunday so they could harvest his organs for transplant.

He hanged himself. His wife found him. She provided CPR and got his heart started but he was already braindead. Her CPR kept his organs alive so they could be transplanted.

His family suspects he suffered from CTE. Because of the effects of hanging he could not be tested for it. It seems very likely it at least contributed to his mental state.

He had four children. His son is 11, his daughters are 8, 4, and 2. Now They’ll grow up without knowing their father.

CTE sucks.

 

[XLIX]

That was Caleb Williams and there was truth to it. It was shut down because it's not possible. And he initially didn't want to go to Chicago, but Caleb did some damage control denying it.

I wish he would’ve taken the League to court over the draft.

 

[n1997y]

Seems simple, you want to be treated like you are signing a 2027 contract, then sign it this time next year, and risk injury this year. I’m sure it isn’t that simple, and this report is probably being driven from the Patriots front office to put pressure on Gonzo, but if he is looking for a true market changing contract, he is negotiating with the wrong team

Agree with the sign it next year. Get an insurance policy if you need to, iirc Lloyds writes them.

But totally disagree it’s the team sourcing the story, I think it’s his agent trying to emphasize their position on the issue.

 

[upstater1]

This is exactly what happened in 1998 during the Curtis Martin saga. RB’s were extremely difficult to find back then and Martin was regarded among the best.

CB’s are extremely difficult to find now and Gonzalez is now considered among the best.

Patriots were in a win now window in the late 90’s. Losing Martin was the beginning of their downfall.

Pats are in a win now window today.

Bob is in a tough position again.

Or it could be posturing for negotiations.

Patriots: "We won't give you a Stingley type deal, we'll bump you up for short money over next two years and then you'll get a top of the market deal at this year's rate in 2 years."

Gonzo: "I want to be paid at 18% of the cap into perpetuity."

If we listen closely to Bedard, we know there's a contradiction in what he's saying. Did the Patriots really say they don't want to give him a Stingley type deal? But instead a bump for 2 years and then at the height of the market?"

Because that would mean that Gonzo is going to wait 2 years for top of the market pay, which makes sense that he would demand a salary commensurate with the salary cap in 2 years.

Put it this way: if the Patriots gave him a $60m guarantee, and a lower salary for 2 years, they could effectively cut him after that with minimal cap repercussions. Whereas Stingley got locked in for $90m two years ago.

 

[n1997y]

When you look at a football field, these corners take away an entire quadrant of it.

Sure you can scheme things up, but when you're getting burned repeatedly by Puka Nacua and Jaxson Smith Njigba, it's frustrating.

Didn’t Gonzo just shut JSN down in the Super Bowl?

Any team that fancies itself as a Super Bowl contender must look at that consider him an asset that they need.

Including New England.

 

[upstater1]

Yep. I have really mixed feelings on this. Gonzalez is a great player, and he deserves to be paid as a top CB, but putting an accelerator in his contract would impact every future contract negotiation, and they can't put themselves in that position. I would tell his agent that if Gonzalez wants to wait until the cap increases again they will put off his contract negotiations until next season, but if he wants to be the highest paid CB in football this season then he can sign a deal that accomplishes that with no accelerator clause in it. If he doesn't like either option he can sit out.

It all depends on what the Patriots offer is.

If, as Bedard claims, the Patriots do not want to rip up the old contract like the Texans did with Stingley and immediately compensate him, it makes total sense why Gonzo would counter that the salary in 2 years would need to be at the increased salary cap level. After all, the Patriots would be deferring the top of the league contract payout for another 2 years.

 

[upstater1]

Didn’t Gonzo just shut JSN down in the Super Bowl?

Any team that fancies itself as a Super Bowl contender must look at that consider him an asset that they need.

Including New England.

I'm talking about all NFL teams (obviously Gonzo has never been burned by Nacua).

 

[n1997y]

If true, Gonzalez wants not only to reset the CB market, but to reset the way contracts are structured league-wide. Absolutely insane.

His agent, more than Gonzo. His agent has the perfect opportunity, with Gonzo and Witherspoon both in his stable and renegotiating at the same time.

It’s not insane. What he’s trying to do makes sense.

If a player is worth 10% of their cap space to a team this year, in the first year of their deal, why should they still be getting 10% of the cap space in the last year of their deal four years from now? If the cap space grew significantly in the meantime it was because the market value of the NFL product grew and that growth was because of players like them. So they grew the market value yet their share of the market value went down. They made more money for the owners and other players, for everybody else and not themselves.

Putting an escalator clause in the contract to grow the player compensation as the cap grows makes perfect sense. It also changes the way of doing business. Teams have to rethink how they plan and budget for future cap space. Probably also affects agents contracts with players so they continue to get more money as their players get more money.

It’s a big change, but not insane. Other than maybe insanely ambitious.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

No one is going to poison pill us this time around.

Correct.
Martin was a FA, Gonzo is not.

 

[Uptown]

I’d never trade Gonzo, but if I did…
I’d accept the two first rounders + whatever else they offer & try to draft Notre Dame CB Leonard Moore. Exceptional talent.

 

[Wozzy]

That was Caleb Williams and there was truth to it. It was shut down because it's not possible. And he initially didn't want to go to Chicago, but Caleb did some damage control denying it.

Caleb Williams's team did indeed mention equity to agents last year (as they should have)

Last year, after the NFL slammed the door on giving equity to players or other team employees, multiple sources shared spontaneously with PFT a pair of interesting facts.

www.nbcsports.com

Book: Caleb Williams sought way around going to Chicago Bears

Quarterback Caleb Williams looked to find a way around the NFL's collective bargaining agreement in an effort to avoid being drafted by the Chicago Bears, details from a forthcoming book reveal.

www.espn.com

Assuming this is true, this is what agents are supposed to do… test the boundaries of what is possible. Again, teams (other than the Browns) are not going to play ball to rewrite how contracts are structured.

In the end Gonzalez will sign a massive deal the same way others have done before. The agents will push the limits of their ask and inevitably take the best deal which will reset the market.

The notion that they’ll fundamentally change how things are done is nonsensical. If Gonzo really wants to renegotiate every year he can take a page from Deion Sanders and become a gun for hire who sells his services to the highest bidder every offseason. I doubt he’ll have the cojones to try this, if nothing else he’ll want to squirrel away a large nut of cash first before he bets on himself annually.

 

[n1997y]

I weep for the generation that thinks it's still a game and not a business. It's been a business for decades.

Nolan Bushnell, the inventor of video games, said it very well: “Business is a good game. The rules are simple, and you keep score with money.”

 

[Uptown]

 

[Uptown]

 

[BennyBledsoe]

Gonzalez better hope that injury is just a negotiating tactic. Now is not the time to miss regular season games.