All-Pro center Nick Mangold and the Jets are closing in on a new seven year, $55 million contract, NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora reports, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
The deal would make the two-time Pro Bowl selection the highest paid center in NFL history.
The two sides have agreed on the length and total compensation of the deal, but are still working out issues such as guaranteed money, which will be between $22 million to $25 million guaranteed, according to the source. Mangold's deal will eclipse Jason Brown's deal with the Rams, which is worth $37.5 million, including $20 million guaranteed.
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Head coach Rex Ryan acknowledged Monday that the two sides were close to an agreement.
Earlier Monday, Mangold wouldn't speak directly about his contract situation, saying he had been advised by his agents to keep quiet about the conversations.
"Anything else football, I'd love to talk," a mum Mangold said. "Otherwise, I'm not talking contract. You can fire away, but I will be stonefaced."
When asked if he felt richer, Mangold answered: "Stonefaced."
"For a player to be rewarded the way he allegedly is about to, is a good thing," guard Brandon Moore said.
Ryan said he was excited by the news that the sides are close to a deal.
"It's great," Ryan said. "To be able to lock up the best center in football? Yeah, that would absolutely be a big thing for us."
Mangold, a first-round pick in 2006, showed up for minicamp and training camp despite being unhappy with the lack of progress in his contract negotiations.
"It didn't fit my personality," Mangold said of holding out. "It's not me, it's not who I am, and it's not what I do."
That attitude further endeared Mangold to several of his teammates.
"He treated it like a professional," Moore said. "He could've easily made a stink about it, did some things even here when he was here. But, you wouldn't have known. A lot of guys didn't even know it was an issue. I think that's a testament to the type of professional he is to be able to put that aside and just come to work."
Meanwhile, All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis remains a holdout, locked in a contract dispute with the team. Revis didn't report to training camp on Aug. 1, and it's uncertain when -- or if -- he will rejoin his teammates. Negotiations have remained confidential after things got snippy through the media.
"We're in a quiet phase," owner Woody Johnson told Newsday at an event at the New Meadowlands Stadium. "Both sides agreed to do that."
Revis is scheduled to make $1 million in the fourth year of his six-year rookie deal, but wants to become the league's highest-paid cornerback. That distinction belongs to Oakland's Nnamdi Asomugha, who signed a three-year, $45.3 million extension last offseason.
He's being fined $16,523 for each day he misses, meaning he's out $380,029 after 23 days away.
Backup cornerback Drew Coleman reworked his $1.17 million tender contract, signing a one-year deal under $1 million that included guaranteed money up front. The move to take less money should help secure Coleman's spot on the 53-man roster.
"The main thing was that I want to be here," said Coleman, a sixth-round pick in 2006. "So, I'd do whatever it takes for us to get to this goal, get to this championship. Whether that was going to be taking a pay cut or less playing time, I just told them that even though there's a recession and there might be a lockout, my main thing is trying to get a championship."
NOTES: Undrafted rookie free agent G Charlie Tanner was carted off the field with a knee injury after being injured during 9-on-7 drills. Ryan said Tanner, from the University of Texas, would have an MRI exam, and it was "probably an MCL sprain, but we'll see." ... DB Donovan Warren did not practice, and LB Joshua Mauga was limited, also recovering from a concussion.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
