Four NFL stars in recent memory have held out of regular-season games amidst contract extension disputes: Haason Reddick (2024), Chris Jones (2023), Melvin Gordon (2019) and Le’Veon Bell (2018).
Among those players, just one received what they were looking for in a new extension.
New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez is due for a new contract, as his rookie deal nears expiration. As of now, an extension has not been agreed upon by both the Patriots and his party.
Gonzalez also skipped the
team’s organized team activities earlier in the spring. Despite uncertainty surrounding his situation, the 23-year-old’s return for mandatory minicamp last week as a limited participant offered a positive development.
In addition, league history shows why these holdouts rarely reach the regular season and why it’s unlikely talks with Gonzalez will extend that far. Holdouts that bleed into the season infrequently bode in favor of the player.
The track record of recent contract disputes
Jones is the lone player to receive a new agreement. He only missed opening week and quickly struck a one-year extension with the Chiefs, soon returning for Kansas City’s Week 2 matchup.
Conversely, however, Gordon decided to hold out of training camp and the first three games of the 2019 season. But, throughout that time, an emerging Austin Ekeler excelled in a new role, leading to Gordon leaving in free agency and settling for a contract worth $2 million less than what the Chargers originally offered him.
And infamously, in 2018, Bell skipped the entire season, sacrificing $14.5 million in guaranteed salary. The following offseason, the former running back signed the lucrative deal he was looking for with the New York Jets. That said, his on-field production dramatically slipped, and he was released one year later, only earning $28 million from a four-year, $52.5 million deal.
Hefty fines from the NFL also deter star players from dragging out holdouts.
After landing with the Jets after a trade from the Eagles, Reddick skipped seven contests in 2024, seeking an extension.
Instead, the pass rusher only had his current one-year deal tweaked and racked up $4.5 million in fines. Reddick also previously turned down a deal that would’ve made him $20 million that season but later settled for a maximum of $10 million, which was $4 million less than he was already slated to earn.
Gonzalez wants to stay in Foxboro
Disputes that extend into training camp are typically completed by the end of August and before the start of the next season.
CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Aiyuk refused to participate in 2024, and both signed new multi-year extensions during the final week of August. In 2023, Nick Bosa missed all of training camp, yet still agreed on an extension four days before Week 1.
In Gonzalez’s case, he was present at minicamp and said after the first practice that he wants to be in New England and be “rewarded as a Patriot.” He also constantly repeated that contract negotiations are between the team and his agents.
When asked if he’ll be good to go for training camp in July, Gonzalez added that there’s a lot of time until those sessions take place, which he’s not worried about right now.
If Gonzalez were to miss training camp, the primary concern entering 2026 would be his conditioning leading up to the start of the season, not his familiarity with the current defensive scheme.
Moreover, as things currently stand, there’s nothing that suggests that will be the case just yet. Barring an absence for the start of training camp, the fact that Gonzalez was present at minicamp is encouraging.
On June 4, NFL insider Ian Rapoport also said there’s a “good chance” a new contract is agreed upon before the regular season; it just may not be imminent (via The Pat McAfee Show).
Contract negotiations take time
Kyle Hamilton of the Ravens and now former Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner were each seeking contract extensions during the 2025 offseason.
Neither received new contracts until after minicamp, when Gardner was extended on July 15, and Hamilton reached an agreement even later in the offseason on Aug. 27. Both participated in their teams’ offseason programs, like Gonzalez is doing thus far.
New England’s All-Pro cornerback also isn’t alone as his representatives negotiate with Patriots brass. Devon Witherspoon of the Seattle Seahawks is another cornerback from the same draft class that has yet to reach a new deal.
Contract negotiations can be prolonged, but nothing about Gonzalez’s current status suggests a standoff is on the horizon.
