Witherspoon Lands Record $132M Extension
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- Devon Witherspoon agreed to a four-year, $132 million extension with the Seattle Seahawks, including more than $101 million in guaranteed money, making him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history.
- Coach Mike Macdonald said he was "really impressed" by Witherspoon's ability to compartmentalize the business side of things, as the cornerback had been practicing throughout the offseason and training camp without an extension in place.
- Witherspoon anchored Seattle's defense — which allowed the fewest points in 2025 — recording a sack of Drake Maye and delivering the hit that set up Uchenna Nwosu's pick-six in a 29-13 Super Bowl LX win over the New England Patriots.
- The Seahawks drafted Witherspoon with the fifth pick in 2023, acquired from the Denver Broncos in the Russell Wilson trade, and took Jaxon Smith-Njigba 20th overall in the same draft; both have become franchise cornerstones for the reigning champions.
- New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who shares Witherspoon's agent, was cited as a possible hang-up in the negotiations and remains up for his own top-of-the-market extension.
- In March, the Seahawks exercised Witherspoon's fifth-year option at roughly $21.2 million for 2027; he was set to earn just under $5.1 million in 2026 before the new deal.
Why it matters: Witherspoon's four-year, $132M extension locks up a three-time Pro Bowler who was a tone-setter for the league's stingiest 2025 defense. Seattle now has both 2023 draft cornerstones — fifth-overall Witherspoon and 20th-overall Smith-Njigba — signed long-term, a rare setup for a defending Super Bowl champion. Gonzalez's looming deal now has to clear this new bar.
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