Falcons White agree on six-year, $50 million extension has 0 comments

Aug 9th 2009, 13:02 | FFN-Score: 4 points

After holding out for the first week of training camp, wide receiver Roddy White agreed to a six-year, $50 million contract extension with the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday night, a league source told NFL Network's Jason La Canfora.

White will become one of the NFL's highest-paid receivers, though short of fellow Pro Bowler Larry Fitzgerald's $10 million-per-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals.

According to the league source, White's contract is worth nearly $28 million over the first three years. Another source with knowledge of the situation told NFL.com's Steve Wyche that the receiver is guaranteed $18.6 million.

The new deal replaces the existing year on White's old contract, which would have paid him $2.28 million this season, and runs through 2014.

White had a career-best 88 receptions for a franchise-record 1,382 yards last season. He earned his first Pro Bowl berth while becoming the first Falcons receiver in a decade to post back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns and the first in team history to tally back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons.

But entering the final year of his contract, the former 2005 first-round draft pick decided to hold out for a long-term deal. White got what he wanted, eliminating the possibility of becoming a restricted free agent in 2010.

"We're always going to be an organization that rewards players that are productive on the field and good citizens off it," Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said. "We're glad to have Roddy's contract situation resolved. We look forward to a long association with him."

Having White in camp was a top priority for the Matt Ryan-led offense, especially after No. 3 receiver Harry Douglas was lost for the season after tearing up his knee during a routine drill.

The Falcons signed Marty Booker and Robert Ferguson after Douglas went down, but only with backup roles in mind. Booker and Ferguson will compete with Brian Finneran for the slots behind starters White and Michael Jenkins.

White was subject to fines of $15,888 per day during his eight-day holdout. He is expected to be in camp for two practices Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.