McNabb, Eagles in accord on restructuring of contract

The Eagles put the finishing touches on a restructured deal with quarterback Donovan McNabb last night after completing their final off-season camp at the NovaCare Complex in the afternoon.

While McNabb was being honored as a father of the year by the American Diabetes Association of Greater Philadelphia, Eagles president Joe Banner and agent Fletcher Smith agreed to restructure the final two years of the quarterback's contract.

"We are thrilled that this all worked out," Banner said in a statement released by the team. "He is a great football player, a great person, and someone who gives back to the community. We are lucky to have him in Philadelphia."

The details of the deal were not immediately known, but a team source said McNabb received a bump in pay, with some of the money guaranteed. The quarterback did not receive any extra years in the accord. McNabb had been scheduled to be paid $9.2 million this season and $10 million next season.

Smith did not return a phone call last night.

The Eagles said McNabb and coach Andy Reid would be at a 10 a.m. news conference today at the NovaCare Complex. That will mark the first time McNabb will publicly address his contract and the state of the Eagles since making the rounds with reporters at the Super Bowl, in Tampa, Fla.

McNabb, entering his 11th season in the NFL, had refused to go to the podium at the team's practice facility during the Eagles' camps this spring for the first time in his career.

Reid had also steered clear of McNabb's contract issue as recently as yesterday afternoon, but it was evident by the actions of the coach and quarterback on the field that they were on much better terms now than they were late in November, when it appeared as if the decade-long marriage between the two might be crumbling.

McNabb and Reid could be seen at the end of practice Wednesday engaging in a friendly conversation along the sideline.

Last season's tension, of course, was created by McNabb's benching in a lopsided loss in Baltimore. Four days later, after McNabb returned to his starting role and sparked a rout of the Arizona Cardinals on Thanksgiving night, the quarterback declared in a postgame interview with the NFL Network that he needed to have a clear-the-air meeting with Reid and Banner.

At the Super Bowl, after the Eagles' NFC championship game loss to Arizona, McNabb conceded that he'd like to have a new contract and said he still planned to talk to Reid and Banner. That meeting eventually took place, though Reid and McNabb's agent initially denied it.

ESPN.com reported in late February that McNabb wanted to hold off on a contract extension until he saw what personnel moves the Eagles made in this off-season. Since then, McNabb and the Eagles had not said much about contract negotiations, and the quarterback's agent seemed to disappear.

Now, the 32-year-old quarterback can be happy about his contract, and the team is thrilled to have him for at least two more seasons.

"Donovan has played a large part in this team's success over the last 10 years," owner Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement. "He has been a professional in every sense of the word."