ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Defensive end Aaron Schobel reached a contract extension with the Buffalo Bills on Friday, a reward for the team's top pass-rusher coming off his first Pro Bowl season.
NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports Schobel signed a new seven-year, $50.5 million deal that includes $21 million worth of guaranteed money. Schobel's full base salaries from 2007-'09 are now guaranteed, as is $6 million in base salary in 2010. Schobel had three years and $9 million remaining on his old contract, which was torn up.
Schobel is the best player on Buffalo's defense, and a defensive end that offenses must gameplan around. The past two seasons he had 26 sacks.
DE bonanza
</center>*A number of prominent defensive ends have cashed in big recently. Here are the reported figures for the guaranteed portions of their contracts:*
» **Aaron Schobel, Bills**: $21 million
» **Ty Warren, Patriots**: $17.5 million
» **Dwight Freeney, Colts**: $30 million
» **Gaines Adams, Bucs**: $18.56 million
The 29-year-old Schobel has been a regular starter since his rookie season, after the Bills selected him in the second round of the 2001 draft out of Texas.
He's coming off a career year in which he finished third in the league with 14 sacks. That tied him with Bruce Smith for the fourth-highest single-season total by a Bills player and was the third time Schobel has produced 10 or more.
"We're trying to keep our good players, and one of the ways you do that is you go to them early and work out deals in order to keep your own," Overdorf said before Buffalo played Tennessee in a preseason game. "Hopefully, Aaron finishes his career as a Buffalo Bill. That was one of his objectives in this, too."
With 60 1/2 career sacks, Schobel is third in team history -- one behind Phil Hansen -- and is one of just 15 active NFL players (including Giants holdout Michael Strahan) with that many. Since 2003, only Miami's Jason Taylor, with 48 sacks, has had more than Schobel's 45 1/2.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
