Alex Smith gets new deal from San Francisco 49ers, QB not offended by Peyton Manning’s chase
A day after unconfirmed reports suggested that San Francisco 49ers and Alex Smith have agreed to terms for a new contract, the team officially announced Smith’s re-signing on Wednesday, March 21, 2012.
The value of the three-year deal was not made public, but some reports suggested that the quarterback could earn up to around $33 million over the course of three years.
In the last National Football League (NFL) season, 49ers topped the National Football Conference (NFC) West division and earned a shot at the NFC championship, which was won by New York Giants.
Smith played a significant role in the team’s success and was rated among the league’s best quarterbacks.
While highlighting Smith’s achievement, 49ers’ general manager, Trent Baalke, said that he was pleased that the player signed the new deal.
He said:
“We are pleased that Alex has chosen to continue his career as a 49er. His contributions were instrumental to our success in 2011, and we look forward to the continued growth of our offence under his leadership.”
After the end of the last season, 49ers had reiterated that they wanted to re-sign Smith, who would become the free agent before the start of the next season.
However, the introduction of the new deal was delayed because of Indianapolis Colts’ decision to release their quarterback, Peyton Manning.
Like many other teams, 49ers also expressed interest in hiring Manning and put Smith’s deal on hold. Manning eventually ended up joining Denver Broncos.
However, Smith said that he was not bothered by the team’s interest in Manning. After signing the new deal, he has once again said that he did not consider Manning an obstruction.
Instead, Smith said, he would have loved to play with Manning in the same team and compete for the role of starting quarterback.
He said:
"Not offended at all. I would have relished the opportunity to compete for the starting quarterback job with Peyton Manning. I feel I've been through way worse than this. Free agency is always going to be a little crazy, maybe this year more than most. You
get to a point you stop worrying about that stuff."
Smith has been playing for 49ers since starting his professional NFL career in 2005.
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