Luke Kuechly, Panthers Agree to New Contract: Latest Details, Reaction

One reason the Carolina Panthers won the past two NFC South titles was the presence of superstar linebacker Luke Kuechly in the middle of their defense. The team apparently doesn't want that to change for the foreseeable future, as it announced a contract extension Thursday that will keep Kuechly in Carolina through the 2021 season.

Rand Getlin of NFL Network reported Kuechly signed a five-year, $62 million contract extension, and Andrew Brandt of ESPN confirmed the deal. Getlin also noted the $12.4 million average annual value of the contract makes Kuechly the highest-paid middle linebacker in NFL history.

"Luke is one of the best young players in the NFL and I'm very excited that the extension is done," general manager Dave Gettleman said, per the team's release. "Like Cam Newton's extension, this contract allows us to do the long-term planning and have the fixed cost that we need to continue to build the best team possible."

The team also provided a statement from head coach Ron Rivera following the signing:

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Luke is a special player and has been a big reason why we've had success on defense. He has the skillset you want in a middle linebacker – a great first step, the ability to play downhill and drop into coverage – and he has great command of our defense and what we want to do schematically. He's a perfect fit for us and I'm excited we got the deal done.

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"It's awesome. To get to this point now is really cool. I just need to keep working as hard as I can," said Kuechly, per Max Henson of Panthers.com. "Now that this is done we can focus on football. That's what I'm most excited about."

When asked how he was going to celebrate, per Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer, Kuechly said, "I'm going to go watch some film."

Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk noted Kuechly was originally set to make $2.1 million for the 2015 season and $11.1 million for the 2016 campaign because the Panthers exercised the option on his contract for next year. However, the two-time Pro Bowler, 2012 Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year and 2013 Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year outperformed his previous deal, and Carolina rewarded him accordingly.

Kuechly seemed to know it would happen eventually and wasn't particularly concerned about his contract status during training camp, via Joe Person: "It's one of those things it's going to happen when it happens. For right now, I know I've got a room. I know hopefully I've got a locker down there. And that's all I really need right now."

It is not a surprise from Carolina's perspective that it would want Kuechly in Panthers colors for years to come.

Mike Renner of Pro Football Focus described why the site ranked Kuechly as the ninth-best player in the league in 2014:

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When you go back to the game tape you see a player that shored up a handful of his weaknesses from the year he won Defensive Player of the Year. His pass rushing and tackling both showed marked improvement. The biggest performance leap, however, came in coverage. Kuechly made the jump from a solid coverage linebacker to the best coverage grade at his position. He made an unbelievable 65 tackles in coverage and 38 stops, both tops in the league – while missing only three tackles – and finished with a +15.8 coverage grade, over five points higher than the next best off-ball linebacker.

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Kuechly is strong against the run and rarely misses an opportunity to rack up tackle numbers. He boasts sideline-to-sideline speed and routinely sheds blocks, but as Renner mentioned, the linebacker is also improved in coverage and can stay with running backs or tight ends on passing downs.

That versatility and the ability to stay on the field for all three downs are critical, and he demonstrated his durability by playing in all 16 games in each of his first three seasons in the league.

Kuechly is only 24 years old and is one of Carolina's leaders as a captain. He is an invaluable piece in the middle of the defense and now has a chance to develop into a franchise cornerstone with this new deal.