The winger enjoyed an excellent campaign in the 2009/10 Premier League and was being mentioned as a possible candidate for England's World Cup plans earlier in the season.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis is therefore keen to extend the two years remaining on Etherington's current contract and talks have been ongoing for a number of months.
But the former West Ham man has remained annoyed that he has not been offered a salary to match some of his team-mates and he will not sign before an agreement is reached.
"I'm a little bit surprised we are so far away in terms of the figures," Etherington said in the Sunday Mirror.
"The club is run very well and it is a tight ship, so I can understand where they are coming from.
"But I don't think I'm being unreasonable. I'm up there with the top scorers at the club, I'm in the top 10 assists in the Premier League, and I think if I was to sign a new contract then I should be up there with the best players.
"That's all I want, not any more. I've got two years left on my deal and maybe that's working against me."
Source: Team Talk
Source: Team Talk