Chiefs' Eric Berry agrees to six-year, $78 million deal, a record for safeties

All is apparently forgiven between all-pro safety Eric Berry and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The sides reached a six-year, $78 million contract ($40 million of it guaranteed) that makes Berry the NFL's richest safety, a person with knowledge of the situation tells USA TODAY Sports' Tom Pelissero.

The person was not authorized to speak publicly since the team did not reveal financial details of the contract.

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Berry's average annual salary of $13 million surpasses the benchmark set by the Arizona Cardinals' Tyrann Mathieu, whose deal averages $12.5 million over five years.

Berry, who begrudgingly played under the franchise tag in 2016 and didn't join the team until well into training camp, had stated he would not report at all if tagged in 2017. A starter since he was drafted fifth overall in 2010, Berry is Kansas City's defensive leader on the field and in the locker room and has provided an even broader source of inspiration since he successfully battled cancer, which cut his 2014 campaign short.

With Berry about to be locked up, the Chiefs could opt to use their franchise tag on nose tackle Dontari Poe ahead of Wednesday's 4 p.m. ET deadline. The team is already creating more cap room after cutting franchise rushing leader Jamaal Charles on Tuesday.

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