Saturday 12 September 2015 13:31, UK
The Cincinnati Bengals have signed wide receiver A.J. Green to a four-year, $60m (£39m) contract extension that runs through the 2019 season.
Green was the Bengals' first-round pick in 2011, while quarterback Andy Dalton was chosen in the second round, and the 27-year-old has reached the Pro Bowl each of his four seasons.
The signing came on the final day of a negotiation window that the organisation had opened before the season and was finalised just before the team boarded a plane for Oakland ahead of their game against the Raiders.
"They drafted me. It's all I know," Green said in a hastily-arranged news conference an hour before the bus left for the airport. "If you know me, you know I don't like change. I like to be comfortable.
"I think this city represents who I am. I love it here. Very low key. It's not a big market. Doesn't want to be a big market. That's not who I am. I'm not a high-profile athlete. I just go out there and play my game and go home. That's representative of the Cincinnati Bengals. We fly under the radar."
Green joins fellow elite young wide receivers Dez Bryant, Julio Jones and Demaryius Thomas in signing lucrative extensions this off-season with all three of those inking extensions in the region of $70m (£45.3m) across five years.
"Everyone in football, and people who follow football, know that A.J. is a special talent," coach Marvin Lewis said.
"He makes plays that you wouldn't think could be made. He's an outstanding team-mate and a leader you can rely on. He still has a long, great future ahead of him in Cincinnati."
Green, whose 1,041 yards last season were a career low after he missed three games, needs 98 catches this season to have the most catches through a player's first five seasons in NFL history.
