Bears ink Tommie Harris to long-term deal

CHICAGO, June 20 (UPI) -- The Chicago Bears have signed Pro Bowl defensive tackle Tommie Harris to a four-year contract extension.

The team did not disclose financial details and Harris said in a conference call on Friday that the negotiations that made him one of the NFL's highest-paid defensive linemen were held secretly on purpose.

"We didn't try to go out there and talk about one another or dispute different things, and I feel like we did it all in-house," the 6-foot-3 inch, 295-pounder said.

The Chicago Sun-Times has reported that the deal, which keeps Harris with the Bears through the 2012 season, is worth up to $40 million.

Harris was in the final year of the five-year rookie contract he signed as the Bears' first-round pick in the 2004 NFL draft out of Oklahoma, and is the only defensive tackle to be selected to three straight Pro Bowls in franchise history.

In 2007, he recorded a career-high eight sacks and has made 208 tackles in four seasons.