Wednesday 13 March 2019 17:28, UK
Former New England Patriots tackle Trent Brown is set to join the Oakland Raiders when NFL free agency begins on Wednesday.
Brown had also been linked with the Houston Texans and its understood the Patriots themselves would have liked to re-sign the player but could not afford to.
The four-year deal is reported to be worth $66m (£50m) with $36.75m (£27.4m) of guaranteed, which would make Brown the highest paid offensive lineman in NFL history.
Brown started all 19 games for the Patriots last season, including Super Bowl 53 in February when New England beat the LA Rams.
The Raiders have made the deal under the auspices of the "legal tampering" process which opened on Monday.
Legal tampering enables teams to discuss all aspects of an NFL player contract with the agents of unrestricted free agents in the 48 hours before free agency officially gets underway. Teams are not allowed to contact the players directly.
Brown was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2015 draft and joined the Patriots in 2018.
