Harris signs 4-year, $36M deal with Jets
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- David Harris never popped off about wanting a new contract, something he could've easily done as he saw others around him cash in.
The playmaking inside linebacker didn't even groan when he was slapped with the franchise tag, a dreaded two-letter word to some because of its restrictions. He still wasn't worried. He knew he'd soon get the long-term contract he was looking for.
Tuesday, he finally received that new pact, tearing up his franchise player tender. According to a source, Harris inked a four-year deal worth $36 million with $29.5 million of that guaranteed, the most guaranteed money for an inside linebacker in NFL history.
"I was patient about it," Harris said while seated next to general manager Mike Tannenbaum at a news conference. "Every player takes it differently. For me, coming from a humble background, blue-collar family, I know Mike would come through on his promise. I just wanted to focus on football and not the contract and the business side of it.
"I'm glad it's all done with."
The quiet Harris was asked constantly about his contract last season, especially with Darrelle Revis, D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold each receiving new deals before the season opener. But because of the lack of a new collective-bargaining agreement, Harris' agent, Brian Mackler, said it prohibited both sides from getting the proper deal done.
Still, Tannenbaum promised Harris and Mackler -- whom he's known for 17 years -- the Jets would revisit Harris' situation whenever a new CBA was struck. Both sides started hammering away last week and Mackler spent four hours at the Jets' training facility Tuesday to finalize things.
"There could always be bumps in the road, but it was a priority," Tannenbaum said. "We always planned and budgeted for . So even though with all the madness last week, and we were in on dozens of deals, signed a bunch of guys, it was still a very important priority to us."
But don't tell Harris, who wants to be a Jet for life, that he's a member of the so-called "Core Four" with Revis, Mangold and Ferguson.
"There is really no 'Core Four.' There's a core 20," Harris said. "This team is built around a lot of young guys. But I'm thrilled to be able to play my career with guys like Darrelle Revis, Bart Scott next to me, playing behind Mike DeVito, Sione Pouha, those guys. They make coming to work every day fun, and I'm just thrilled and ecstatic.
"It's a good feeling to know that I can put all this behind me and focus on football."
