Devon Witherspoon and the Seattle Seahawks have agreed to a four-year, $132 million contract extension, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who reported Saturday, Aug. 15, that sources told him the two sides had reached a deal. The extension includes more than $101 million guaranteed and averages $33 million a season, which makes Witherspoon the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. That average works out to about 10.95% of the NFL’s 2026 salary cap. Seattle had already exercised Witherspoon’s fully guaranteed fifth-year option for 2027, worth roughly $21.16 million, and the new extension keeps him under contract in Seattle beyond that year.
Key facts
- Contract: four-year extension worth $132 million
- Guaranteed money: more than $101 million
- Average salary: $33 million a year — the highest ever for an NFL cornerback, about 10.95% of the 2026 salary cap
- Seattle already exercised Witherspoon’s fifth-year option for 2027, worth roughly $21.16 million
- Reported by: ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Saturday, Aug. 15
- Confirmed by the Seahawks organization itself on Saturday, Aug. 15
The Seahawks confirmed the agreement themselves in an official team announcement published Saturday, Aug. 15, at 2:51 p.m., crediting the deal to Pro-Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon. NFL.com, CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports and Pro Football Rumors had already independently reported the same terms, attributing them to Schefter’s sources, ahead of the team’s own confirmation.
The deal in context
Witherspoon’s $33 million-a-year average tops every cornerback contract signed before his:
- Denzel Ward (Cleveland Browns): $31.1 million a year — the previous record, set about a month earlier
- Sauce Gardner (2022 first-round pick): $30.1 million a year
- Derek Stingley Jr. (2022 first-round pick): $30 million a year
The deal landed on the same day the Seahawks opened their preseason schedule against the Dallas Cowboys. Head coach Mike Macdonald had indicated beforehand that Seattle did not plan to play established starters, including Witherspoon, in that game.
Why the negotiation took a while
ESPN reports the talks ran longer than expected for two reasons. Witherspoon shares an agent with Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez, meaning the same representative was negotiating two high-profile cornerback deals at once — Gonzalez’s with New England and Witherspoon’s with Seattle. On top of that, Seattle had first turned its attention to signing receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba to a four-year, $168.6 million deal back in March. Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in July that his team had made Gonzalez an offer that would make him the highest-paid player at the position. That was an offer, not a completed contract, and Witherspoon’s new number now raises the bar Gonzalez’s camp is negotiating against.
Asked about the contract talks at an Aug. 11 training-camp press conference, before the deal was reported, Witherspoon downplayed the distraction. “I’m not really worried about anything else,” he said, adding, “We’ve got a long season ahead of us, man, contract or not. We’ve still got to play football.” Macdonald said afterward he was impressed by how his cornerback handled it: “It shows you his maturity and his commitment to the team.”
What he’s done to earn it
Seattle took Witherspoon fifth overall in the 2023 draft out of Illinois, using a pick the team had acquired from Denver in the Russell Wilson trade. He made the Pro Bowl on the initial ballot in each of his first three seasons and was named second-team All-Pro in 2025. Injuries limited him to 12 games last season, in which he recorded 72 tackles, seven passes defensed and an interception.
He was a bigger factor in the postseason. In Seattle’s 29-13 Super Bowl LX win over New England, Witherspoon had four tackles, three pass breakups, three quarterback hits and a sack of Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. A separate hit forced an interception that teammate Uchenna Nwosu returned for a touchdown.
The extension keeps Witherspoon in Seattle for years to come, anchoring the defense that won the Seahawks their most recent Super Bowl.
Sources and further reading
- Seahawks Agree To Terms With CB Devon Witherspoon On Contract Extension (Seahawks.com)
- Sources: Seahawks, CB Witherspoon agree to 4-year, $132M deal (ESPN)
- How To Watch, Listen And Follow Seahawks vs. Cowboys In Preseason Week 1 On Saturday, August 15
- Seahawks Exercise Fifth Year Options For CB Devon Witherspoon & WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
- Devon Witherspoon Training Camp Press Conference – August 11, 2026 (‘I’m out here focused on making plays’)
- Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon ‘Excited To Be Back Playing Football’
- Seahawks Devon Witherspoon Focused On ‘Making Plays’ & ‘Getting Better’
- Seahawks vs. Cowboys Game Center
- NFL Preseason Week 1 Schedule 2026: Games, Times, Matchups & Tickets