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MIAMI (AP) Pro Bowl defensive end Adewale Ogunleye finally found a team willing to give him the contract he sought.
The Chicago Bears acquired Ogunleye from the Miami Dolphins on Saturday for receiver Marty Booker and a third-round draft choice in 2005. The trade was contingent on Ogunleye reaching a contract agreement with the Bears, and he accepted a six-year, $33.4 million deal, agent Drew Rosenhaus said.
Ogunleye, who led the AFC with 15 sacks last season and made the Pro Bowl for the first time, had been unsigned and at a stalemate in negotiations with Miami since May.
"He's going to be a hard guy to replace," Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas said. "I hate to lose a great player like Wale, but I like Wale, and I know he got what he wanted. They wouldn't give it to him here."
For the Dolphins, the deal shores up a receiving corps depleted by injuries, including David Boston's season-ending knee injury. The Bears have been seeking to upgrade their pass rush, and starting end Alex Brown has been sidelined this summer by a sprained calf muscle.
"You know how important those pass rushers are," Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said. "We'd much rather have to address the receiver situation than the pass rusher, and we like our young receivers."
Ogunleye's deal includes a $15 million signing bonus - $10 million initially, and $5 million at the end of the season, Rosenhaus said. The agent said the Dolphins offered only a $1 million signing bonus.
"We're pleased the Bears stepped up," Rosenhaus said. "Wale is ecstatic. He's set for life, and he becomes one of the highest-paid defensive linemen in the history of the league."
Booker wasn't in uniform for the Bears' exhibition game Saturday night against San Francisco. A possession receiver, he had 100 catches for 1,071 yards in 2001, and 97 for 1,189 yards in 2002, when he made Pro Bowl. He missed three games with ankle injury last season and was limited to 52 receptions for 715 yards.
Booker, who signed a seven-year, $28-million deal before the 2002 season, was a third-round draft pick in 1999 from Northeast Louisiana. Ogunleye signed with Miami as an undrafted free agent after playing at Indiana.
