Tamba Hali Re-Signs with Chiefs: Latest Contract Details, Comments, Reaction

The Kansas City Chiefs were able to turn a potentially awkward situation with linebacker Tamba Hali into a positive for everyone involved, as ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the two sides agreed to a three-year deal.

Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports confirmed the report. The deal is for three years and $22 million, with "nearly" $12 million in guaranteed money, per Rand Getlin of the NFL Network. 

Hali is coming off of one of his worst seasons. The 31-year-old had six sacks in 2015, his fewest in a season since 2008. He's recorded just 12.5 sacks over the last two seasons, numbers that pale in comparison to his heights but are still pretty strong. A veteran who is one of the best two-way linemen in football, Hali has made the Pro Bowl each of the last six seasons. 

According to Spotrac, Hali was due to make a $6.75 million base salary in 2016, not including nearly $3 million as part of a signing bonus, with a cap hit of $11.9 million before the team voided his contract. Given the decline in his production last year, those two numbers were unsustainable for a team over the edge in cap space. 

Per OverTheCap.com, Kansas City is set to enter the 2016 league year with $18.73 million in cap space—one of the dozen lowest figures in football. The team is already paying a huge salary for franchised safety Eric Berry, and stars Justin Houston and Alex Smith both have sizable cap hits. 

Hali may no longer be the player who registered 14.5 sacks in 2010, but there's no reason to think he cannot approach double-digit sacks once in the right situation one more time. Hali spent most of 2015 battling a knee injury that required offseason surgery. He spent most of the season sitting out practice to avoid aggravating the problem. 

"I gotta play at a high level. I don't want to limp out there," Hali said in January, per Joel Thorman of Arrowhead Pride. "I'm playing OK but if I'm healthy I think I can be more productive. Can't only be a one trick pony."

He's been extremely productive for Kansas City throughout his career, and the team clearly thinks he means more to the franchise than the money they would have saved by letting him go does.