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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, June 25, 2009

Lions sign Dominic Raiola to 4-year, $20M extension


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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola runs through drills at the NFL football team's training facility in Allen Park, Mich., today. The Lions have signed Raiola to a four-year contract extension.

CARLOS OSORIO | Associated Press

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ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Detroit Lions have signed center Dominic Raiola, a Saint Louis School alum from Honolulu, to a four-year contract extension.

The team announced today that the 6-foot-1, 295-pound starter will remain in Detroit through the 2013 season.
Additional contract terms were not disclosed. But several media have reported he signed a $20 million deal, of which $9 million is guaranteed. With the new contract, Raiola will make $13 million this year.
“There’s so much I put into this,” Raiola told the Detroit Free Press today. “I think it’d be like quitting. This place is worse now than when I came in. I definitely want to be a part of when this thing is turned around.”
Raiola is entering his ninth season with the Lions. He was drafted 50th overall in 2001 and has started at center since 2002, playing in 124 games with 108 starts.

Raiola departed Nebraska after his junior-year season.