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Report: Chiefs, Berry unlikely to agree on long-term deal

Jamie Squire / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Kansas City Chiefs and franchise-tagged safety Eric Berry are unlikely to agree to a long-term deal prior to the July 15 deadline, Rand Getlin of NFL Network reports.

Absent a new deal, Berry will play out his one-year, $10.8-million franchise tag contract and become an unrestricted free agent once again in 2017.

The Pro Bowl safety is reportedly looking for something in the neighborhood of $12 million in average annual salary, which would help him surpass the Minnesota Vikings' Harrison Smith ($10.25 million per year) as the NFL's highest-paid safety.

Berry, 27, is coming off a bounce-back season in which he overcame a cancer scare to return to his place as one of the league's best safeties.

Many have likened his situation to that of Chiefs pass-rusher Justin Houston, who signed a massive long-term deal just hours before the deadline in 2015, and there's still hope something can be worked out between the two sides.

"This is gonna be a slow process with Eric," general manager John Dorsey said in May. "It's gonna be a process kinda like Justin last year. We'll continue to have some conversations and dialogue."

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