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. Custom Dolphins Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. 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Zacha had three goals and two assists in seven games at the world mens under-18 championship in April when the Czech Republic took the silver medal.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi-ya Kerry, I find it amazing that with all the bad calls that were made in Game 3 of the Habs-Lightning series, people are up in arms about possibly the biggest call in the game that was one of the few that was correct. Would you please do us all a favour and explain why that goal was justly disallowed? I really miss having you, Ron, Andy and Don refereeing games. You four were true professionals. Sincerely,Bob (a.k.a. Avro Arrow on TSN.cas comment threads) P.S. - Please put it in laymans terms as I think that the on-air host may have used terminology that most people arent familiar with. LOL Hey Bob: (a.k.a. Avro Arrow) I give young referee Francis Charron kudos for having the courage to correctly apply rule 69.3 and disallow the potential go-ahead goal by Ryan Callahan with 4:22 remaining in the second period and the score tied 1-1. The overriding rational of rule 69 (Interference on the Goalkeeper) is that a goalkeeper should have the ability to move freely within his goal crease without being hindered by the actions of an attacking player. There were two instances of goalkeeper interference by virtue of the rule on the play whereby a goal could not legally be allowed to stand if the puck entered the net. In the first instance Alex Killorn took the puck hard to the net and initiated contact with Carey Price as he attempted to deke and jam the puck into the net. The rotation of Killorns body and subsequent crash into the back of the net was as a result of his skate to pad contact with Price and not as a result of any back door pressure exerted by David Desharnais. (Check the footage closely!) In attempting to make the save and as a result of the contact by Killorn the Montreal goalkeeper was knocked beyond his blue paint and was then struck by a falling Desharnais. If the puck were to have entered the net following the contact initiated by Alex Killorn the goal should immediately be disallowed. As the action continued the referee would only allow a "good goal" once he determined that Price was able to reestablish his position within his goal crease to defend any subseqquent shot following this initial contact from Killorn.dddddddddddd Price got to his feet and moved laterally across the crease to establish his position and to defend a potential shot by Valtteri Filppula from the left side face-off circle. Alex Killorn was attempting to exit the net behind Price in this same moment and resulted in the second incident of goalkeeper interference inside the crease. This time however the contact was initiated by Price and not through the actions of Alex Killorn. Nonetheless a violation of rule 69.3 occurred; (Rule 69.3 - If a goalkeeper, in the act of establishing his position within his goal crease, initiates contact with an attacking player who is in the goal crease, and this results in an impairment of the goalkeepers ability to defend his goal, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.) Even though the contact initiated by Price took him deep into left field, it occurred inside the blue paint as Price was "attempting to establish position inside his goal crease" and could only be judged as such by the referee. Price knows this rule better than most goalies in the NHL and that is why he threw himself into Alex Killorn inside the blue paint. Price has utilized this rule to his advantage on at least three occasions in previous games. I demonstrated a great montage of Price initiated contact inside his goal crease on Thats Hockey 2Nite with Steve Kouleas following the Habs-Lightning game. In the footage, Price clearly initiated contact with attacking players inside his crease and in each case the referee immediately disallowed the goal. Players, coaches, former players and fans dont fully understand the rule application or the standard by which the referees are instructed to enforce rule 69. Until this "loophole" in the rule is closed referee Francis Charron and his colleagues will continue to enforce it in the same manner that we saw last night in Montreal. The NHL needs to come out in support of Francis Charron and the gusty, correct call he made. You did what is not only expected but demanded of you kid. In laymens terms Avro Arrow, my best advice to attacking players is to keep out of the blue paint and to especially keep clear of Habs goalie Carey Price! 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