The long holdout of Jacksonville Jaguars first-round draft choice Byron Leftwich finally ended Tuesday night when the former Marshall quarterback reached a contract agreement on a seven-year deal.

The contract will void to five years if Leftwich achieves minimum playing time levels.

Leftwich, 23, was the last of the 2003 first-round selections to come to contract terms, and his deal came just hours after Willis McGahee reached an agreement with the Buffalo Bills. Leftwich's deal also comes just one day after sources close to the quarterback told ESPN.com that the two sides were not close to striking a deal.

While the complete financial details of the package were not immediately available, the deal could be worth as much as about $30 million, but only if Leftwich cashed in on all of the incentives and escalators. A more realistic figure, based on projections that he will become the starter by 2004, would be as high as $23 million.

Between the initial signing bonus and a second-tier option bonus, Leftwich will make a combined $10.9 million. There is also a one-time roster bonus of $500,000.

Negotiations took a positive turn late Monday night, when the two sides spoke until 11 p.m. The momentum continued through much of Tuesday, when the Jaguars and the representatives for Leftwich came to an accord on some final elements of the deal. At one point Tuesday, rookie head coach Jack Del Rio acknowledged to reporters that an agreement could be imminent.

Del Rio noted to ESPN.com last week that time was running short for Leftwich to be a factor as a rookie. He hinted that if the standout quarterback was not in camp before the third preseason game, his debut year in the NFL would likely be a washout.

The deal leaves just two draft choices -- fourth-round tailback Lee Suggs of Cleveland and sixth-round quarterback Drew Henson of Houston -- unsigned among the 262 players who were chosen in the 2003 draft. Henson is playing baseball in the New York Yankees' minor league system and has said several times he will not sign a football contract. Suggs suggested last week he might sit out the season and re-enter the draft in 2004.

The seventh overall prospect chosen this year, Leftwich now will have to play catch-up in the new West Coast offense installed by Del Rio's staff. But he is a bright player with a good feel for the game and, in time, Leftwich should assimilate the offensive playbook.

He will report to camp no better than No. 3 on the Jaguars' depth chart, behind starter Mark Brunell and primary backup David Garrard. There is little doubt, however, that as Jacksonville moves out of the Tom Coughlin era, Leftwich is a key figure.

During his much celebrated college career, Leftwich started in 35 of his 44 appearances, and completed 939 of 1,442 attempts for 11,903 yards, with 89 touchdown passes and just 28 interceptions. He also rushed for 187 yards and six touchdowns and averaged 274.7 yards of total offense per game over his career.

An engaging young man with a quick wit and undeniable presence, Leftwich is a solid leader around whom players tend to rally. From a mechanical standpoint, he still has a number of components to correct, and he will have to become comfortable working from under center after playing in a shotgun formation nearly his entire college career.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.