Sanders Signs Record Contract

Indianapolis Colts safety Bob Sanders has signed a five-year, $37.5 million contract with Indianapolis that includes $20 million in guaranteed money, according to NFL sources. The contract makes Sanders, 26, the highest-paid safety in the NFL. The Pro Bowl selection, whose playoff performance sparked the Colts on their run to a Super Bowl victory last season, would have been an unrestricted free agent after this season. Sanders is a strong contender for this year's NFL defensive player of the year honors. The Colts have doled out record contracts before to other top players. Before the start of training camp, Dwight Freeney signed a $72 million, six-year deal, making him the league's highest-paid defensive end. The contract included a $30 million signing bonus. After the 2003 season, quarterback Peyton Manning agreed to what was a then-record $99.2 million, seven-year contract that contained a still-record $34.5 million signing bonus. Sanders' signing is significant because Colts tight end Dallas Clark, who is having a career year, is an unrestricted free agent after this season. Getting Sanders signed now means that if Indianapolis can't reach agreement with Clark on a new deal, it will have the option of using the franchise tag to retain him for 2008. Sanders' average salary of $7.5 million under the extension is nearly $1 million more than what the Pittsburgh Steelers' Troy Polamalu got in his new deal in July, and the guaranteed money is more than what Ed Reed got when he signed an extension with the Baltimore Ravens in June 2006. ~Chris Mortenson, ESPN~