Carolina Panthers sign tight end Greg Olsen to extension

Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen will put off his broadcast television future for at least two more years.

He’ll be kind of busy.

Olsen signed a two-year extension with the Panthers on Thursday, the morning of the 2018 NFL draft, a source told the Observer.

The team confirmed the deal on Thursday afternoon.

“I’ve made it clear over the past year that I want to play here,” Olsen told the team website. “Both sides were fair and worked on it in a timely manner. I feel really good about what we were able to get done both for ourselves and the team.”

The deal is worth $8.55 million per year, the source confirmed.

His previous contract was set to expire at the end of the 2018 season. Now, he’ll play for the Panthers at least through 2020.

Olsen can also stand to make about $20 million based on incentives written in the contract. If he does so, he will at the very least tie Packers tight end Jimmy Graham as the league’s highest-paid based on average dollars per year.

Olsen, 33, was on injured reserve for most of last season. In 2016, he became the first tight end in NFL history to record three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

In 2017, he fractured his foot in Week 2 and had to get it surgically repaired. He did not require a second surgery following the season. His eight weeks on injured reserve were the first time Olsen missed substantial time due to injury.

This month, Olsen indicated to the Observer that he felt he could play another 3-5 years.

This story was originally published April 26, 2018 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Carolina Panthers sign tight end Greg Olsen to extension."