Everett, Wash. Published: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
NFL notebook
Associated Press
Steelers sign Starks to a four-year deal
PITTSBURGH -- Starting left tackle Max Starks has signed a four-year contract that keeps him with the Pittsburgh Steelers through the 2012 season and frees up several million dollars in salary cap room for the team.
The 6-foot-8, 345-pound Starks, 27, was designated as the Steelers' franchise player on Feb. 20 -- less than three weeks after they won the Super Bowl -- and he initially accepted a 2009 salary of $8.45 million.
Instead, the new contract is expected to pay him a signing bonus of slightly more than that amount but reduce his annual salary, creating additional salary cap room for a team that was up against the cap most of last season. The signing bonus, for cap purposes, is spread out over the length of the contract.
By agreeing to the four-year contract, Starks no longer carries the franchise player tag.
Starks gains long-term stability with the new deal and avoids having to negotiate with the Steelers on a yearly basis. Last year, Starks was tagged as the Steelers' transition player and was paid $6.9 million, a large sum for a player who began the season as a backup but became a starter again after Marvel Smith missed most of the season with a back problem.
"We were very fortunate to have him," Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert said. "A transition on a backup probably didn't make a lot of sense, but we didn't feel like we would have been as good a team without him. We wanted to do a long-term deal (in 2008) but we couldn't get it done."
The Starks, the starting right tackle when the Steelers won the Super Bowl during the 2005 season, was a third-round pick out of Florida in 2004. He made 30 consecutive starts at right tackle from 2005-06 and has started 15 regular season games at left tackle the past two seasons. He started the Steelers' final 11 regular season games and their three playoff games last season.
Now that Smith and former starting guard Kendall Simmons are no longer with the team, Starks has the longest tenure of any of the Steelers' offensive linemen. Simmons was released in February after sustaining a season-ending Achilles' injury four games into the season. Smith signed with the 49ers.
Chiefs to honor Derrick Thomas
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs will retire the number of the late Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas during a ceremony Dec. 6. Thomas wore No. 58 during his 11 seasons with the Chiefs. He died in February 2000 of injuries from a car accident. He'll be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio.
I just want to celebrate
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Chris Johnson is using his Twitter account seeking touchdown celebration suggestions because the Tennessee running back wants to top the antics of Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco. Johnson isn't new to TD celebrations. He drew a $10,000 fine from the NFL last October for celebrating a 66-yard TD run in Kansas City by banging on drums in the end zone -- and wasn't happy being fined for trying to have fun. He tweeted last Friday asking for help and also alerted his followers to "pay close attention to what i have in store."
Jets to wear corporate patch
NEW YORK -- The New York Jets are taking advantage of a new NFL rule this summer that will allow them to place a corporate logo on their practice jerseys as a source of additional revenue. The Jets' patch features the logo of Atlantic Health, a New Jersey-based health care provider that owns naming rights on the team's training facility in Florham Park, N.J.
