diff --git a/net/haproxy/pkg-descr b/net/haproxy/pkg-descr
index 1675d938b..cee9c1c70 100644
--- a/net/haproxy/pkg-descr
+++ b/net/haproxy/pkg-descr
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ very high loads while needing persistence or Layer7 processing.
 Plugin Changelog
 ================
 
+Added:
+* add new option "Gradual connection close time" (close-spread-time) (#3026)
+
 Changed:
 * rename frontend option "Type" to "Connection Mode" (#3026)
 * update URLs to HAProxy 2.6 documentation (#3026)
diff --git a/net/haproxy/src/opnsense/mvc/app/controllers/OPNsense/HAProxy/forms/generalSettings.xml b/net/haproxy/src/opnsense/mvc/app/controllers/OPNsense/HAProxy/forms/generalSettings.xml
index aa3f791ff..b9934dd6a 100644
--- a/net/haproxy/src/opnsense/mvc/app/controllers/OPNsense/HAProxy/forms/generalSettings.xml
+++ b/net/haproxy/src/opnsense/mvc/app/controllers/OPNsense/HAProxy/forms/generalSettings.xml
@@ -21,6 +21,12 @@
         <type>text</type>
         <help><![CDATA[Set the maximum time allowed to perform a clean graceful stop. HAProxy will terminate all open connections when the timeout is reached. This may be used to ensure that the instance will quit even if connections remain opened. Defaults to milliseconds. Optionally the unit may be specified as either "d", "h", "m", "s", "ms" or "us".]]></help>
     </field>
+    <field>
+        <id>haproxy.general.closeSpreadTime</id>
+        <label>Gradual connection close time</label>
+        <type>text</type>
+        <help><![CDATA[Specifies a time window during which connection closing will be spread during a soft-stop operation. Idle connections will all be closed at once if this option is not set, which may cause reconnecting clients to rush against the process. For best results, it should set lower than the "Graceful stop timout" option. Defaults to milliseconds. Optionally the unit may be specified as either "d", "h", "m", "s", "ms" or "us".]]></help>
+    </field>
     <field>
         <id>haproxy.general.seamlessReload</id>
         <label>Seamless reload</label>
diff --git a/net/haproxy/src/opnsense/mvc/app/models/OPNsense/HAProxy/HAProxy.xml b/net/haproxy/src/opnsense/mvc/app/models/OPNsense/HAProxy/HAProxy.xml
index 5a465b296..340264d97 100644
--- a/net/haproxy/src/opnsense/mvc/app/models/OPNsense/HAProxy/HAProxy.xml
+++ b/net/haproxy/src/opnsense/mvc/app/models/OPNsense/HAProxy/HAProxy.xml
@@ -18,6 +18,11 @@
                 <ValidationMessage>Should be a number between 1 and 8 characters, optionally followed by either "d", "h", "m", "s", "ms" or "us".</ValidationMessage>
                 <Required>N</Required>
             </hardStopAfter>
+            <closeSpreadTime type="TextField">
+                <mask>/^([0-9]{1,8}(?:us|ms|s|m|h|d)?)/u</mask>
+                <ValidationMessage>Should be a number between 1 and 8 characters, optionally followed by either "d", "h", "m", "s", "ms" or "us".</ValidationMessage>
+                <Required>N</Required>
+            </closeSpreadTime>
             <seamlessReload type="BooleanField">
                 <default>0</default>
                 <Required>Y</Required>
diff --git a/net/haproxy/src/opnsense/service/templates/OPNsense/HAProxy/haproxy.conf b/net/haproxy/src/opnsense/service/templates/OPNsense/HAProxy/haproxy.conf
index 418a16c1e..c4799282f 100644
--- a/net/haproxy/src/opnsense/service/templates/OPNsense/HAProxy/haproxy.conf
+++ b/net/haproxy/src/opnsense/service/templates/OPNsense/HAProxy/haproxy.conf
@@ -973,6 +973,9 @@ global
 {% if OPNsense.HAProxy.general.hardStopAfter|default('') != '' %}
     hard-stop-after             {{OPNsense.HAProxy.general.hardStopAfter}}
 {% endif %}
+{% if OPNsense.HAProxy.general.closeSpreadTime|default('') != '' %}
+    close-spread-time           {{OPNsense.HAProxy.general.closeSpreadTime}}
+{% endif %}
 {# # Disable strict-limits because a syntax check will not reveal #}
 {# # whether kern.maxfilesperproc or kern.maxfiles are too low. #}
     no strict-limits