The Bears reached a five-year, $17.5 million contract extension with safety Mike Brown, who was entering the final year of his contract.

Negotiations heated up over the past couple of days when one of Brown's agents, Ethan Locke, went to Chicago to try to work out a deal. That visit produced an increase in excess of $700,000 a year that convinced Brown to sign the deal.

Brown is signed through the 2008 season. He received around a $5 million increase in up-front money for the 2003 from his $450,000 base salary.

Brown, a second-round choice of the Bears in 2000, is considered one of the leaders on the Bears defense. He started 47 of 48 games in his first three seasons and had 202 tackles and nine interceptions.

The 25-year-old Brown would have been an unrestricted free agent after the season had he played out of the final year of his contract.