Texans Extend Johnson’s Deal Through 2016
The Houston Texans clearly realize how important wide receiver Andre Johnson is to their team as they have awarded Johnson for his constantly overwhelming production for the team every season.
The Texans had been talking to Johnson about giving him a big contract extension and the two sides reached an agreement to extend the receiver’s contract for an additional two years, through 2016.
Johnson’s contract had five years remaining with a pay of $35 million. His new deal adds two years to that contract and pays him an additional $38.5 million over those two years. That brings the total of the deal to seven years for $73.5 million over seven years, averaging out to $10.5 million annually.
Johnson has proven to be worth the amount of money he’s making for the Texans. He is perhaps the greatest receiver in the NFL today, and has led the league in receiving yards for the past two seasons. He has also led the league in receptions in three of the last four seasons.
"Andre embodies what you're looking for in a football player," Texans general manager Rick Smith said. "Certainly, he's in a class with himself. He's the one guy we'd even consider doing something like this for."
Johnson is a big reason why the Texans has constantly improved every season and will likely be a force in the league for years to come. He was drafted third overall by the Texans in 2003 out of the University of Miami and has been a big reason why the Texans passing game has been so dominant. He’s Matt Schaub’s number one target, and since 2006, has averaged a league-high 90.6 yards receiving per game.
"I think the action that we've taken, as Rick said, just is a reflection of how we view Andre," Texans owner Bob McNair said. "It's important to us that Andre have one home, and that's with the Texans. He's a future Hall of Famer and probably will be our first Hall of Fame player. We wanted to make sure that he went in as a Texan, that he played his career as a Texan and hopefully retired as a Texan."
Johnson elected to join his teammates at training camp before the contract was signed, saying he did not want the situation to be a distraction for the team. He is appreciative of the organization for granting him such a generous contract.
"For them to do something like this for me and my family, I don't think words can describe it," Johnson said. "All I can say is thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I always said I wanted to play for one team, and to play for the Houston Texans for the rest of my career, I mean it's a tremendous honor."
Tags: