Patrick Peterson became the NFL's highest-paid corner on Tuesday night, signing a five-year, $70.05 million extension.
The Arizona Cardinals' cornerback told NFL Media's Alex Flanagan on Wednesday that having that feather in his cap was a goal.
"I believe that I am playing at a high level," Peterson said. "I believe I am the best in the league, so I believe I should be compensated as the best...But it was extremely important to be the highest paid cornerback in the NFL...that was definitely a point of emphasis throughout the negotiations, and as you guys can tell, (the team and his agents) made it happen."
Wednesday morning Peterson got in a brief, passive-aggressive hullabaloo on Twitter with Richard Sherman. The Cardinals' defender said he views their rivalry as "friendly" and doesn't take anything said the wrong way.
"I think it's a natural comparison because both of us are playing at a high level, and it's going to be that way for the rest of our careers. I'm completely fine with it," Peterson said. "We'll just have to wait to see what this year brings and what the first game with the Seahawks is gonna be. ...Could be must-see TV."
As for the picture of that Super Bowl ring Sherman tweeted out on Wednesday, Peterson said it didn't bother him.
"That's a team accomplishment," he said. "You didn't do that by yourself. At the end of the day, they had a great season, the defense played well, offense did well, and they did what they had to do to win a championship. But that doesn't faze me, and yeah, he's playing on a great team that so happened to win it last year, and hopefully, our team is good enough to win it this year."
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