GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -The Green Bay Packers signed Nick Barnett to a contract extension Tuesday, assuring the middle linebacker will not become a free agent after next season.

The extension replaces the final year of Barnett's five-year rookie contract and runs through 2012. Terms were not disclosed.

``It was definitely an option to hit the market,'' Barnett said. ``But being a Packer for life, there's not a lot of players who play on the same team for their entire career. I'm blessed, actually, to have that opportunity.''

The 25-year-old Barnett has said repeatedly he wanted a new deal to ensure he'd stay with the Packers. He even remained in Green Bay this offseason to participate in conditioning drills.

``It (was) more important for him to take the sure thing now, knowing that he could be a guy next year who ends up in a position where the numbers get huge,'' said Barnett's agent, Chuck Price.

The 6-foot-2, 232-pound Barnett has led Green Bay in tackles three of the past four years. He finished with 105 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions last season, despite missing a game with a broken hand and playing the final month of the season wearing a bulky cast.

Barnett is the third major piece of the Packers defense general manager Ted Thompson has moved to keep this offseason, joining cornerback Al Harris and defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins.

``I had one more year on my contract. (I said), 'I'm not trying to force their hand or they aren't trying to force mine,''' he said. ``I'm in it with them. We're a team at this. I'm not going to take that route.'''

Some believed Barnett wanted out of Green Bay after several disputes with local government officials over his downtown nightclub, FiveSix Ultra Lounge.

The Green Bay City Council voted not to renew Barnett's liquor license last May, eight months after the bar opened, citing a number of disturbances there.

Barnett has since closed the club, occasionally opening it for charity events, but said he now wants to focus entirely on his football career.

``You can only play football for a certain amount of years,'' Barnett said. ``You can always do that business stuff afterward.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.