Lewis Lands Record $19-Million Bonus

Ray Lewis agreed to a five-year contract extension Thursday that includes a record $19-million signing bonus and keeps the All-Pro linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens through 2008.

The bonus surpasses the $18 million given to Minnesota Viking receiver Randy Moss.

Lewis’ new seven-year contract is worth $50 million. Lewis had two years left on a deal that was to pay him $4.75 million each year.

Lewis, 27, led the NFL in tackles last year and was selected to the Pro Bowl for a fifth consecutive time. He was the Super Bowl most valuable player in the Ravens’ 2001 NFL title season, and is the key element in the team’s effort to regroup from a sweeping salary-cap purge.

Said Raven Coach Brian Billick: “When Ray goes, I’ll go. If that’s the way it works out, it will be fine with me.”

Lewis has bounced back after his troubles in 2001, when he was charged in the stabbing deaths of two men after a Super Bowl party. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of obstruction of justice, was put on probation for one year and fined $250,000 by the NFL for “detrimental conduct.”

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Doug Flutie, battling second-year pro Drew Brees for the San Diego Chargers’ quarterback job, will start the exhibition opener Aug. 10 at home against Arizona.

Coach Marty Schottenheimer said Flutie, who turns 40 in October, will start the exhibition opener because he was the starter last year. Brees is then expected to start against Seattle at home on Aug. 16.

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Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, the first-round pick of the Tennessee Titans, suffered a severe sprain of the right ankle and might miss a month of camp.

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The San Francisco 49ers have asked the NFL for a special roster exemption to keep linebacker Masafumi Kawaguchi, a Japanese player added to the roster just for their American Bowl Game on Sunday in Osaka, Japan.

Meanwhile, Miami prosecutors ordered that 49er rookie cornerback Michael Rumph be arrested after he failed to appear for an arraignment Thursday on a driving under the influence charge.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneer running back Michael Pittman, sidelined this week by a right ankle sprain, might practice today.... Washington Redskin reserve defensive end Otis Leverette was diagnosed with a knee ligament injury that will sideline him for about six weeks.... James Harris, a 34-year-old former defensive end for the Oakland Raiders, was among 61 people arrested in a nationwide sweep of parents who authorities said failed to pay child support. Harris, booked in Chicago, allegedly owes $100,000 for a son.... The Green Bay Packers have signed wide receiver Chris Jackson, who has been playing with the Avengers of the Arena Football League.