RENTON, Wash. -- Earl Thomas is the latest member of the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks to be locked up for the future. The best free safety in the NFL is getting rewarded quite well. Thomas and the Seahawks reached agreement Monday on a $40 million, four-year contract extension with just over $27.7 million guaranteed, according to two people with knowledge of the agreement. They spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because there had been no announcement from the team. The agreement was first reported by NFL.com. Thomas, a two-time first-team All-Pro, could have gone into the 2014 season with free agency on the horizon. Instead, Seattle made sure to keep the most important cog of its defence through the 2018 season. Its the latest move in a strong off-season for the defending champions. While there were losses in free agency and difficult roster decisions with expensive veterans released, Seattle re-signed defensive end Michael Bennett before free agency began, then locked up coach Pete Carroll with an extension through 2016. The debate was whether Seattle could get a long-term deal done with either Thomas or cornerback Richard Sherman before either became a free agent after the 2014 season. Thomas deal is finished and the Seahawks can turn their attention toward trying to get a deal done with Sherman and solidifying three-fourths of the top secondary in the NFL for years to come. Strong safety Kam Chancellor is already signed through the 2017 season. Thomas was Seattles second first-round pick in the 2010 draft, the first with Carroll and general manager John Schneider leading the franchise. Its turned out to be one of the most important selections the team has made since starting a makeover with the duo in charge of moulding the Seahawks into a championship club. "Earl is as serious a competitor as you could ever hope to be around. He is in it, and hes on it and dialed in," Carroll said before the Super Bowl. Thomas was Seattles second-leading tackler last season and added five interceptions, but its what his presence allows the Seahawks to do defensively that underscores his value. His speed in coverage and recognition in the secondary are among the best in the game. Much of what Seattle wants to do defensively is predicated on having Thomas on the roster. At one point early in his career, Carroll had to threaten Thomas with benching because he was trying to do too much. Thomas was getting out of position and being undisciplined in his assignments. As he matured, those mistakes became harder to find. Thomas recognition of what opponents were trying to run became so good that he could play alone in the back of Seattles defence. Often this past season, the Seahawks were able to move Chancellor closer to the line of scrimmage and ask Thomas to patrol the back end by himself. He did that job at an elite level and earned his second straight All-Pro selection. "In this defence, I think me and Kam do a lot. Sometimes dirty work, sometimes a lot of game-changing plays," Thomas said during Super Bowl week. "Everybody on the defence understands that. Thats why this defence is so compatible with each other. Its selfless guys. "Were going to put everything on the line for each other. Love is the highest frequency we have and we understand that, and thats what its all about. When youre filled up with gratitude, its a genuine appreciation for everybody around you. Thats the way I love it." Thomas has 15 career interceptions in the regular season and two more in the playoffs. Thomas will still only be 29 years old when his new deal expires after the 2018 season. Derrick Favors Jersey . Didnt need any help this time. 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Jonas Jerebko Jersey .com) - Thursday marks the official debut of a new dirt racing surface at Meydan Racecourse.While the rest of the hockey world continues to debate Hockey Canadas selections and omissions for the mens team going to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, executive director Steve Yzermans roster has already earned a big thumbs up from The Great One. "I really think he put together a good team," Wayne Gretzky told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun on ESPN.com. "Hes got skill, hes got size, hes got depth, hes got a good coaching staff, and theyve done all their homework. Theyve done everything they can do. Now its up to the players to play at the level that they need to play at to bring back the gold medal." Gretzky is no stranger to building teams for the Olympics, as he helped select the 2002 and 2006 Canadian teams. The 2002 squad snapped Canadas 50-year gold medal drought at the Olympics in Salt Lake City, while the 2006 team finished off the podium in Torino. The team selection is always a controversial process, with fans and pundits naturally second-guessing the picks once theyre announced. "My son, who is 21, who doesnt follow hockey all that much, was showing me the second team that Canada could have put together, which would have been pretty good," Gretzky told LeBrunn.dddddddddddd "So, even kids down here are talking about it." Gretzky added that Yzerman, who also led the selection committee for Canadas gold-medal winning team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, did a good job of avoiding any real obvious controversy with most of their choices. "There was really no controversy on the three goalies," he told LeBrun. "Those are the three guys and with the ability to have eight defensemen instead of seven, there really wasnt any talk about so and so was left off." Theres one difficult task that Gretzky never had to endure - wear an NHL GMs hat at the same time and tell his own player that he didnt make the team. Thats something that Yzerman had to do with his Tampa Bay Lightning captain Martin St. Louis on Tuesday morning. "Ive always said that its an easy hard job," said Gretzky. "Its easy because youre picking from 50 really good players, so youve got an easy task in terms of having a good team. But its a hard task in getting down to those final few picks; thats what really makes it difficult. Its never fun. It wont be controversial if they win, but as always, itll be controversial if they lose." Cheap Jerseys ChinaNFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Jerseys WholesaleDiscount Basketball JerseysCheap NHL Jerseys AuthenticCheap Baseball Jerseys Free ShippingCheapest College Jerseys SaleCheap Football Jerseys ChinaNike NFL Jerseys CanadaWholesale NHL Jerseys From ChinaMLB Jerseys Outlet CanadaWholesale NBA Jerseys Canada StoreCheap Soccer Jerseys ChinaCheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '