"Lee Evans didn’t want to think about leaving the Buffalo Bills after this season. That is no longer an issue.

The Bills made sure their star wide receiver would be around at least through 2012 by signing him to a four-year, $37.25 million contract extension Thursday.

“I’m extremely happy right now,” Evans told The Buffalo News on Thursday evening. “This is something that we have been working on for a long time and it wasn’t easy. But it’s finally done, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about it.”

Evans was four games into the final year of a contract he signed as a first-round draft pick out of Wisconsin in 2004. The Bills made it clear very early in the offseason that extending Evans was a top priority.

The deal, which includes $18.25 million in guaranteed money, makes Evans the highest- paid player in Bills’ history in terms of average salary per year ($9.3 million).

“The negotiations spanned well over 6z months,” Evans’ agent, Ben Dogra, said. “[Senior Vice President of Football Administration] Jim Overdorf and [Chief Operating Officer] Russ Brandon and Mr. Wilson [owner Ralph] stepped up and wanted to show a huge commitment to Lee. It was not an easy negotiation. I think it’s a good deal for both sides.”

A breakthrough in negotiations occurred when the two sides met face to face in India-

napolis when the Bills played the Colts in a preseason game Aug. 24. They had another meeting last weekend when the Bills went to St. Louis.

“That meeting [in Indianapolis] was helpful to see if we could try to forge ahead,” Dogra said. “And we made good progress over the last 10 days.”

Based solely on the average, the contract makes Evans the fourth-highest paid receiver in the league behind Carolina’s Steve Smith ($10.9 million), Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald ($10 million) and Indianapolis’ Marvin Harrison ($9.5 million). Dallas’ Terrell Owens and New England’s Randy Moss average $9 million, though like Smith, their deals are over three years.

Left guard Derrick Dockery and defensive end Aaron Schobel got bigger contracts in terms of years and money from the Bills last year, but both average in the $7 million range.

“I’m happy with the contract,” Evans said. “I was looking for something that was fair and would provide long-term security for me and my family. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

Locking up Evans long term is crucial to the Bills’ long-term plans. If Evans had left, the cost of replacing him would have been exorbitant. Good free agent receivers are hard to find, and the bust-rate for drafting receivers in the first round is higher than that of quarterbacks. "