New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady agreed to a four-year contract extension Thursday that would make him the NFL's highest paid player, according to two people with knowledge of the contract.
The extension begins in 2011 at an average of $18 million per year with a total of $48.5 million guaranteed, one of those persons said. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because the paperwork had not yet been filed with the NFL.
Brady agreed the deal hours after being involved in a car crash that left him unhurt.
The Patriots open their season at home Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Brady is entering the final year of his current contract _ a six-year, $57.3 million deal.
The average value of the new deal surpasses that of New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who agreed this year to a six-year, $97.5 million ($16.25 million average) extension starting next year.
Brady's new contract was first reported by Peter King of Sports Illustrated during halftime of NBC's telecast of the Minnesota-New Orleans game.
The crash, at an intersection in Boston's Back Bay area, knocked over a light pole and sent a passenger in the minivan that collided with Brady's car to a hospital with injuries that were serious but not considered life-threatening, a police report said.
The 21-year-old driver of the minivan, Ludgero Rodrigues, was cited Thursday for failing to stop at a red light, based on witnesses statements, police said. Two other people in the minivan were able to exit and had no visible injuries, they said.
The police report said a 49-year-old passenger had to be freed with the Jaws of Life.
Rodrigues' driver's license had been suspended at least five times in three years, Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Ann Dufresne said. Last year, his license was suspended for 180 days after he was arrested for operating under the influence and refused to take a blood-alcohol test, Dufresne said.
RMV records also show that Rodrigues had been charged with a number of moving and traffic violations.
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Associated Press writers Mark Pratt, Denise Lavoie, Russell Contreras and Howard Ulman contributed to this report.
