You can finally exhale, Chargers fans: Philip Rivers has agreed to a contract extension with the team.
UT San Diego’s Kevin Acee reported Saturday evening that Rivers has agreed to a four-year, $84 million contract extension with the team. The deal calls for $65 million in guaranteed money, which is a huge amount, and it will be signed on Monday.
The is great news for San Diego at a time when the city is in jeopardy of losing its football team. Rivers, who has been with the Chargers his entire career since being drafted in 2004, was in the final year of his contract, which was signed in 2009. There was chatter that he was unhappy with the future of the team and pushing for a trade. Some reports even talked about him being dealt to the Titans for the No. 2 overall draft pick, which then would have been used on Marcus Mariota.
No deal was ever consummated. Instead, Rivers is now staying with the only team he’s ever known.
Since taking over as the Chargers’ starter in 2006, Rivers has not missed a single regular season game and even played through a bulging disk in his back last year. The 33-year-old has thrown for 63 touchdowns the past two seasons under head coach Mike McCoy and has also completed the highest percentage of passes of his career (69.5 and 66.5 percent). This contract could be his last one as a pro football player and might mean he will end up playing for only one team his entire career.
