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March 31, 2000 By Len Pasquarelli SportsLine.com Senior Writer |
More accustomed this offseason to having high-profile veteran players depart the franchise, the Buffalo Bills completed a major coup Friday.
SportsLine.com has learned the team has reached contract accords that will keep intact the incumbent left side of its offensive line.
The team has announced new contracts for tackle
John Fina and guard
Ruben Brown on Friday. The deals, on which the Bills
negotiated with agent Eric Metz for more than a month, help solidify a
Bills offense that returns nine starters from a '99 season in which they ranked No. 11 in the league.
Fina, 30, had one season remaining on his current contract and was
scheduled to earn a base salary of $2.635 million in 2000, with a salary cap designation of $5.502 million. He signs a six-year extension through 2006, the total deal worth about $27 million. Between the signing bonus and his base salary, Fina will earn about $8.2 million for the 2000 season.
The cap-strapped Bills in part used the salary cap room created by Fina's new deal to re-sign Brown, who has made the Pro Bowl each of the past four seasons but was an unrestricted free agent. Brown, 28, signs a seven-year contract worth as much as $32 million and including a signing bonus of $7 million. The contract is worth $15 million in its first three years.
The former University of Pittsburgh star was a first-round pick of the Bills in the 1995 draft and moved immediately into the starting lineup. Brown has played in 73 games, all starts, and even with injuries never appeared in fewer than 13 contests in a season.
A powerful drive-blocker, the massive Brown (6-feet-3, 304 pounds) was the top guard in the free-agent pool but, surprisingly, drew only modest interest because of his lofty contract expectations.
Regarded as one of the league's best pass protectors, and a player with great technique, Fina was the Bills' first-round choice in the 1992 draft. He moved into the starting lineup in '93 and has been a fixture ever since. In eight seasons, he has played in 121 games and started 105. Without the extension, Fina would have been eligible for unrestricted free agency next spring.
It helped the Bills in negotiations that Metz represents both players.
Related Links:
NFL Draft 2000 T O P N E W S
Including signing bonus, John Fina is expected to earn about $8.2 million this season.(Allsport)