Safety Eric Reid has inked a $22 million, three-year deal to remain with the Carolina Panthers -- just five months removed from struggling as a free agent.
Reid, who didn't sign with a team until Week 4 last year, believes the contract will help his legal battle against the NFL. The on-going collusion case claims team owners worked in tandem to ensure players protesting during the national anthem were not offered contracts.
"It proves my point from last year," said 27-year-old, per Bleacher Report: "I didn't sign until a [few weeks into] the regular season... This year I signed a more substantial contract over the same time period. I'm the same player."
The new contract, worth an average $7.3 million-a-year, pays Reid as a Top 10 safety.
Last off-season, Reid had a well-publicised struggle to sign with a team. Only Cincinnati interviewed the safety. Owner Mike Brown was accused of offering Reid an uncompetitive contract by the NFLPA afterwards. An arbitrator found Brown wasn't guilty of sking Reid whether he would continue to kneel if the team signed him.
Speaking solely on the contract, Reid implied the deal was fairer than the $2 million he earned last year with the team: "If I wasn't satisfied with the contract I would have gone into free agency.''
But the defensive back added: "I don't see a lot of loyalty in this business. The Panthers could cut me tomorrow if they wanted to. The fact that they brought me in last year didn't play that much of a role."
The move signals Carolina's respect for Reid on and off the field, especially in a saturated safety market. "We have great players in this locker room and we've accepted him with open arms," quarter back Cam Newton said.
Reid continued to kneel in Carolina this year while putting up 73 tackles, five passes defenses, one interception and one sack in 13 games.
"It's been a long time coming with the way the collective bargaining agreement works with a fifth-year option and then [what happened] last year,'' Reid said. "It gives my family peace of mind knowing where we'll be the next couple of years. I enjoyed being here."
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