2:37pm: The deal, which has now also been announced by the Bengals, has been slightly adjusted since the initial agreement, according to Adam Caplan, who says Burfict will earn $10.75MM in salary and bonuses in the first six months, and $12MM in the first two years of the pact (Twitter link).
AUGUST 27, 2:07pm: Burfict and the Bengals finalized the linebacker’s new deal today, according to agent Audie A. Attar of Paradigm Sports Management (via Twitter).
AUGUST 20, 4:38pm: The Bengals have agreed to a contract extension with Vontaze Burfict, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (via Twitter).
According to Caplan, Burfict will earn $9.75MM in salary and bonuses by March of 2015, and is set to take in $11MM over the first two years of the deal (via Twitter).
Caplan’s colleague at ESPN, Adam Schefter, reports that that contract is a three-year extension, keeping Burfict with the team through 2017. His total contract is now a four-year, $20MM deal that will pay him a salary of $7.6MM in 2014 (via Twitter).
Burfict was once considered an early first-round talent, but issues on and off the field contributed to a drop in his stock prior to the 2012 NFL Draft. He ran poorly at the combine and tested positive for marijuana, which contributed to him going undrafted and signing with the Bengals as a rookie-free agent.
The troubled linebacker has since turned his career around, becoming the star player he was once thought of. He led the NFL in tackles in 2013, and was the only member of the vaunted Bengal defense selected to the Pro Bowl.