Panthers' Jeffers Inks Extension

December 30, 1999 / 6:41 PM EST / CBS/AP

One of the hottest wide receivers in the NFL is staying put.

Patrick Jeffers signed a contract extension Thursday that will keep him with the Carolina Panthers through the 2003 season.

The four-year deal is worth about $10 million and includes a $3 million signing bonus, sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The Associated Press.

Jeffers said the Panthers and his agent, Brad Blank, came close to an agreement Wednesday evening and finalized the details Thursday.

Jeffers joined the Panthers in April as a restricted free agent after the Cowboys refused to match Carolina's offer of a one-year, $1.2 million deal. The contract made Jeffers the Panthers' highest-paid wide receiver, and he responded by working his way into the starting lineup and posting the best numbers of his four-year NFL career.

Jeffers had a combined 21 receptions for 354 yards in his first three seasons, but so far this year he has caught 56 passes for 917 yards and 10 touchdowns. In the last four games alone, he has 28 receptions for 552 yards and six scores.

Thursday's deal means Jeffers will get his wish of avoiding becoming an unrestricted free agent. He said he wanted to stay with the Panthers because he has played with three teams in the past two years and has found success in coach George Seifert's offense.

"Once you find a place where you're successful and you're happy, I don't see any reason to look anywhere else," Jeffers said. "They showed a lot of faith in me last year when they came to me with that one-year offer."

Jeffers, 26, was a fifth-round selection of the Denver Broncos in 1996. He played two seasons with Denver before being traded to Dallas.

Seifert has found the 6-foot-3, 218-pound Jeffers a good complement to Muhsin Muhammad, Carolina's second-round draft choice in 1996. Muhammad is headed to his first Pro Bowl after also recording the best numbers of his career in 1999: 90 receptions for 1,208 yards and seven scores.

"We are very excited, because Pat obviously demonstrated that he can handle the position and has taken advantage of his opportunities," Seifert said. "We've still got a lot of work ahead of us, but this is one positive step."

Muhammad, in the final season of a four-year, $2.5 million contract that ranks him among the lowest-paid starting wideouts in the NFL, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The Panthers have had talks with Muhammad's agent in recent months about a new deal.

"Obviously he's a huge part of this offense," Jeffers said. "I know they want him back and I know he wans to be here."