The New England Patriots beat Wednesday’s deadline and signed kicker Stephen Gostkowski to a long-term deal.

The NFL Network reported the deal is for four years; ESPN said the deal is worth $17.2 million.

Wednesday’s deadline was for long-term deals for players who received the franchise player designation last winter.

In nine seasons with the Pats, Gostkowski has made a franchise-best 86.8 percent of his field goals. He became the Patriots’ all-time leading scorer in 2014 and has 1,179 career points. He has converted 73 of 78 field goals (93.6 percent) over the past two seasons.

In other moves on a busy day in the NFL:

• The Kansas City Chiefs made Justin Houston the highest-paid linebacker in NFL history when he agreed to a six-year, $101 million contract, over half of which is guaranteed.

“I want to be known as one of the best to ever play the game, that’s my motivation, I just want to be great at what I do,” Houston said after signing a contract that was more than 30 times the value of his rookie contract.

Houston has made three consecutive Pro Bowls and was the key to Kansas City’s front-seven dominance last year when he broke Derrick Thomas’ franchise record with 22 sacks and came within a-half sack of Michael Strahan’s NFL single-season record.

Houston was considered one of the top linebackers in the draft coming out of Georgia, but a failed test for marijuana at the scouting combine caused his stock to slide. The Chiefs wound up taking him in the third round, in retrospect a massive bargain.

He has made roughly $3 million over the course of his rookie contract. For that small price, Kansas City got 200 tackles, 481/2 sacks and five fumble recoveries.

His reward is the richest contract in franchise history.

“Once you get paid, it’s not like you won the lottery,” Houston insisted. “You still have work to do. You can still get better each and every day, so that’s my goal.”

In some ways, Houston just hit the jackpot.

His new deal includes $52.5 million guaranteed, a person familiar with the terms told The AP. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because terms were not disclosed by the team.

Had he not reached an agreement on a long-term deal, Houston still would have more than quadrupled his career earnings, playing on a one-year deal worth about $13.1 million.

• Star receivers Dez Bryant and the Dallas Cowboys and Demaryius Thomas of the Denver Broncos both agreed to a five-year, $70 million contracts just before the deadline.

Thomas signed the richest contract in Broncos history, which includes $43.5 million guaranteed. Bryant’s deal included $45 million guaranteed.

Although Thomas had said he’d play on the $12.8 million franchise tag if he had to “and then I’d just go try to win the Super Bowl,” Bryant had threatened to skip training camp and regular-season games without a long-term contract.

His deal ended the contract-related drama that filled the offseason for the Cowboys. First they decided not to match Philadelphia’s offer on running back DeMarco Murray in free agency, and let the NFL rushing leader go to one of their division rivals.

So, they couldn’t afford not to have Bryant, who has more catches (381), yards (5,424) and touchdowns (56) through five years than any receiver in franchise history – a list that includes Hall of Famers Michael Irvin and Bob Hayes.

• The New York Giants did not pursue a long-term deal with Jason Pierre-Paul after the star defensive end injured his right hand in a July 4 fireworks accident. A person close to the situation told The Associated Press, however, that the Giants have not rescinded their $14.8 million franchise tag offer to Pierre-Paul.

Pierre-Paul’s agent, Eugene Parker, has not responded to several requests for comment.

Pierre-Paul broke out in 2011, posting 161/2 sacks and playing a key role in the Giants winning the Super Bowl.

Pierre-Paul has 42 career sacks, including 121/2 last season.

HALL OF FAME: Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy and Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton will be among those introducing the eight-member Class of 2015 during induction ceremonies on Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio

Levy, who led the Buffalo Bills to four straight Super Bowl appearances, will introduce former Buffalo general manager Bill Polian. Polian presented Levy when he joined the Hall of Fame in 2001. Tarkenton will present longtime Minnesota Vikings center Mick Tingelhoff, who spent most of his 17-year career snapping the ball to Tarkenton.

DirecTV’s exclusive right to broadcast certain NFL games is an illegal monopoly that raises costs for bars and restaurants, a San Francisco bar says in a lawsuit against the league and the satellite TV provider.

The lawsuit filed this week in federal court in California challenges DirecTV’s deal with the league for “NFL Sunday Ticket,” which gives subscribers nationwide live broadcasts of many Sunday games played in other cities. Those games are available to the subscribers only through DirecTV.

The lawsuit by the bar Ninth Inning Inc. says the deal stifles competition by preventing other TV providers, such as Dish Network, from airing the games. It also means individual teams don’t have to compete to get their games broadcast in markets outside their home cities.

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