Sean Lee, Dallas Cowboys Sign Contract Extension until 2019

Sean Lee, the 27-year-old Dallas Cowboys linebacker, is staying with the Dallas Cowboys for a good six more years.

According to Todd Archer of ESPN Dallas, the six-year extension contract is worth as much as $51 million. Lee will have a base salary of $630,000, $5.5 million, $2.5 million and $3 million from years 2013 to 2016 respectively. From then onwards, the linebacker will be receiving a base salary of $7 million until the contract expires by the year 2019. The estimate also includes the $10 million signing bonus he received from the Cowboys.

The multi-million dollar deal may hve been pushed by Dallas Cowboys Executive Vice President Stephen Jones belief that Lee is the "best in the business."

"We said, 'Hey if we're going to do this, we think you're the best in the business, I think you're going to be. But at the same time unfortunately you've had injuries,'" Jones tolf the Dallas News. "It's unfortunate but no one works harder at it, no one practices as harder and no one is more about what we want to have in a Dallas Cowboy than Sean is."

Lee missed 13 games in the past three seasons due to several injuries. In 2010, he missed two games due to a hamstring strain. The following year, Lee suffered a partially dislocated wrist and had to miss one game. He played the rest of the season with a protective cast covering his entire hand. Last year, the linebacker also missed several games due to a toe injury.

According to Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett, Lee is the "heart and soul of the defense" despite playing only 35 games in the past three seasons. In a report by Sports Blogs, he said:

I just think it's fantastic. Sean Lee represents, embodies, personifies everything we think is good in football. He's an outstanding football player. He cares a great deal about the game. He has a tremendous passion for the game. His work ethic is off the charts. He's a productive player and he just goes about it the way you want him to go about it. A great example to the rest of his teammates; a natural leader the first time he got here. I think everybody responded to what he was all about. To be able to lock him up for an extended period of time was a really positive thing for our football team.