LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears locked up a key member of their defense for the foreseeable future Monday, signing cornerback Nathan Vasher to a five-year contract extension through 2012. Terms were not disclosed.

Vasher leads all active Bears with 16 interceptions in regular-season play and was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2005 after topping the team with a career-high eight interceptions, the third highest single season total in franchise history.

Nathan Vasher returned this missed field goal an NFL-record 108 yards for a TD against the 49ers.

The 2004 fourth-round draft pick was due to become an unrestricted free agent following the upcoming season.

“It’s a great relief,” Vasher said. “I feel excited just to be able to get to this point in my career and just excited to know that my family will be secure for the next number of years and I’ll be here and be a Chicago Bear for the second part of my career.”

Nicknamed “ESPN3” while at Texas because he needed his own channel to show all of his highlights, Vasher has displayed his big-play ability with the Bears.

He returned an interception 71 yards for a TD against the 49ers in 2004 and set a record (that has since been tied by teammate Devin Hester) for the longest play in NFL history by returning a missed field goal 108 yards for a TD also versus San Francisco in 2005.
 
Inking Vasher to a long-term deal will not hamper the Bears’ ability to re-sign other players such as cornerback Charles Tillman, wide receiver Bernard Berrian or quarterback Rex Grossman who are due to become unrestricted free agents next offseason.

"I'm more than confident that there's more than enough to go around and that they're able to structure deals and salary cap issues to where we could sign back a lot of players," Vasher said. "I'm more than confident that myself, Charles, Bernard-anybody else that's up about this time-that we can still continue to be teammates."

Vasher was more interested in receiving a lucrative extension with the reigning NFC champions than hitting the open market following the upcoming season.

"The only thing I really wanted was security and that was exactly how it ended up," he said. "I just didn't go in saying I wanted $100 million or something that was more or less outlandish. I just wanted to get something done where my family would be taken care of and I would still be here to play in Chicago, so I'm really happy that it worked out that way.

“It’s an exciting time right now and it’s just good to get it done and over with. The whole process went well. I made no bones about wanting to be here and my agent understood that. Mr. [Jerry] Angelo and those guys really stretched and made it work, so I’m really happy about it.

“Playing football is the most important thing and whenever you can go out there and do that stress-free, it’s great. You don’t have any other distractions. I know a lot of guys have contract issues and different things like that, but that’s one thing I can definitely put behind me right now.”

Vasher has been an integral member of Bears teams that have won 24 of 32 regular-season games in capturing back-to-back division championships for the first time since the 1980s.

“It’s the attitude,” he said. “It’s a place where winning is expected, and you really can’t trade that for anything. I always wanted to be part of a winner and through the past couple years that’s exactly what we’ve done. We’ve added a lot of pieces as far as players and we continue to get better each and every year, so you can’t be anything but excited.”