Eric Weddle will now be the highest paid safety in the game, this after he and the Chargers came to terms on a deal Wednesday worth $40 million over 5 years. The deal includes a $13 million dollar signing bonus, and $19 million of the money is guaranteed.
Negotiations between the safety and the Chargers started early on Tuesday and got serious on Wednesday morning, with the deal being agreed to in just a couple hours.
Weddle said all along that he wanted to stay with the Chargers, though there were a few other teams that had reported interest, including the Jaguars, Houston and the Browns. He was drafted by the Chargers in 2007 and the teammates he said would be his “best buddies forever.”
The 26-year-old Weddle has started 48 of the Chargers’ past 51 games. He started all 16 games in 2010, a season in which he emerged as a leader on the defense.