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Panthers exercise Luke Kuechly's 5th-year contract option

Jeremy Brevard / USA TODAY Sports

The Carolina Panthers exercised the fifth-year option on Luke Kuechly's contract Saturday, ensuring that their star linebacker will remain with the team through at least the 2016 campaign.

Now heading into his fourth season after joining the Panthers as a first-round draft selection in 2012, Kuechly has been quick to establish himself as one of the NFL's premier defensive players.

The 24-year-old has started all 48 games over that span, recording no fewer than 153 tackles in any one season and being named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2013.

Carolina picking up the fifth-year option tentatively sets him up to become an unrestricted free agent in March 2017, but Kuechly will certainly be in line to receive a lucrative long-term contract before that point.

The Panthers can be expected to open negotiations for such a deal following the upcoming season, quite possibly making Kuechly one of the highest-paid defensive players in NFL history.

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