ESPN's John Clayton is reporting that the Indianapolis Colts have reached an agreement on a six-year, $72 million contract with defensive end Dwight Freeney. The contract includes a $30 million signing bonus and makes Freeney the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.
"To have me paid among the top players in the league -- not just as a defensive players -- means a lot of me," said Freeney, who flew to Indianapolis on Thursday night in anticipation of accepting the deal. "[Colts general manager] Bill Polian is the one who drafted me. I was hand-picked by him. He was going to do the right thing for the organization."
Freeney has been one of the league's best pass rushers since the Colts drafted him in 2002, but he's coming off his worst season, with just 5.5 sacks in 2006. The Colts used the exclusive-rights franchise tag on Freeney, meaning he was a free agent in name only and could not negotiate with any other team.
Previously at FanHouse:
Colts Taking Freeney Contract to the Wire
Freeney Stuns NFL, Actually Attends a Minicamp
Colts Slap Dwight Freeney With the Franchise Tag
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-13-2007 @ 2:43PM
coach said...
they overpaid for this guy, in 3 years he will gain weight and become fat like corey simon and they will end up cutting him and taking a huge cap hit.
Reply
7-13-2007 @ 2:49PM
Eric said...
Wrong, coach. Freeney is the most feared pass rusher in the NFL and if anything, he's undersized.
Reply
7-13-2007 @ 3:27PM
andy said...
I remeber watching Freeney play for Syracuse and I knew then that he was going to make some noise in the NFL. His graduating class class included Marvin Harrison Donovan Mcnabb and I bekeive also Donovan Darious(recently signed with the Raiders) All of these players have been and will down in NFl history as on the the best players and thei respective positions. GO 'CUSE
Reply
7-13-2007 @ 3:32PM
S Tripp said...
Coach? Of what, a little league team? Patriots fan I bet. Freeney is awesome and had what was called a bad year with only six sacks. He allows the other guys on the line to get more because he always has a double team. Any team that would have signed him would have happily paid him what the Colts did.
Reply
7-13-2007 @ 3:40PM
Joe said...
Freeney played hurt all last season and teams ran the ball most of the time because of the bad run D.
(The run D was barely Freeney's fault. They lost both their starting DTs before midseason, the outside linebackers weren't great tacklers and didn't have Sanders to help. Freeney should have stayed in and played the run more often, but usually he has the support behind him to cover for him when he goes after the QB.)
Reply
7-13-2007 @ 3:55PM
Mary Ann Siebieda said...
Sounds like more money than sense.He's a top player,but he's getting a little older and last year sure wasn't a history making one for him. Having said that, maybe I don't want him to succeed. Go Steelers!
Reply
7-13-2007 @ 4:15PM
bob said...
Freeney is a great player dont get me wrong. But lets not remember who THE UNQUESTIONED best defensive player in the game right now. Julius Peppers ring any bells? oh yea lots of them cuz he is lights out all the time. Gettin after the Qb for sacks, fumbles and recoverys. or even defending tight ends and intercepting passes. Peppers has proven he can do anything. I cant wait to see what kind of contract he is gonna get
Reply
7-13-2007 @ 5:00PM
Pops said...
He's not even that good. What a waste of money. He won't even be a colt in 2-3 years. What a bad move.
Reply