How badly did veteran safety Brian Dawkins want to continue his career with the Denver Broncos?
Enough to accept a $4 million paycut this season, *The Denver Post* reported Wednesday.
Dawkins, 37, was scheduled to make $6 million during this, his 16th, season. Instead, the eight-time Pro Bowl selection will earn $2 million -- $1.6 million in base salary with a $400,000 signing bonus, according to contracts submitted to the league Tuesday. One provision of the reworked deal is that the final two years of the five-year contract he signed in 2009 were canceled.
"Where I am in my life as a person, this is no big deal to me," Dawkins said. "It's what I felt was right. The last two-and-a-half years, I had a horrible taste in my mouth. I really wanted to be part of this team, part of the Denver Broncos —- how do I say this? -— without any dark clouds over us. I could have decided to continue my career some other place, but that's not what I wanted to do."
Dawkins is entering his third season in Denver after spending 13 with the Philadelphia Eagles. After the Broncos' 4-12 finish a season ago, Dawkins is looking forward to a fresh start under a new regime.
"I've put down some roots here with my home and my teammates," Dawkins said. "And a huge factor in this decision was having Coach (John) Fox here. I like what he's brought here. I'm excited about what we have going on here with the Denver Broncos."