IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys safety Ken Hamlin won't have to wait until after the season for a long-term contract.
The Cowboys signed Hamlin on Tuesday to a six-year, $39 million contract that includes $15 million in guaranteed money and a $9 million signing bonus.
Hamlin, 27, set career-highs with five interceptions and 102 tackles last season, his first in Dallas after four years in Seattle. He started all 16 games and one playoff contest on his way to being named a starter for the NFC in his first Pro Bowl.
Hamlin didn't participate in offseason workouts because he never signed a one-year, $4.4 million tender after the Cowboys in February designated him as their franchise player. But he remained in contact with defensive coaches the entire time.
Hamlin had until Tuesday to reach a long-term deal or else play the 2008 season under a one-year contract for $4.4 million, the average salary of the five highest-paid safeties in the NFL. He then wouldn't have been able to sign a multiyear contract until after the season.
The six-year deal signed by Hamlin is similar to what safety Gibril Wilson got from Oakland this offseason. Kerry Rhodes signed a $33.5 million, five-year deal with the New York Jets.
Hamlin was one of the NFL-record 13 Pro Bowlers the Cowboys had last season, when they matched a franchise record with 13 victories before losing to the New York Giants in the divisional playoff game. He was originally drafted by the Seahawks in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft.
The Cowboys also gave new long-term contracts this offseason to four other Pro Bowlers: receiver Terrell Owens, left tackle Flozell Adams, running back Marion Barber and cornerback Terence Newman .
The Cowboys report to training camp in Oxnard, Calif., on July 24.
