DENVER - Veteran safety John Lynch has signed up for another season with the Denver Broncos.

Lynch, according to reports from the Denver media outlets, signed a one-year contract worth less than the $3.12 million salary he had in 2007. He had been considering retirement.

According to a report on ESPN.com, Lynch had drafted a letter thanks fans and teammates for his four years in Denver. But when he called Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, Bowlen was unavailable. When Bowlen called back, Lynch was asleep.

So on Friday, Lynch had a change of heart, talked with Bowlen and Broncos coach Mike Shanahan and agreed to stay in Denver.

"I could probably go make more money elsewhere in the free agent market," Lynch told Denver-area media outlets. "And I had really gone to bed excited about that.

"And then I woke up thinking, 'What am I doing?' I've got four kids who are happy here. I've found a home here and I didn't want to be one of those guys going from team to team. I felt I had earned what I had coming to me but sometimes you have to step back and look at the big picture. And the big picture to me was: I had to find a way to make this work."

Lynch, a nine-time Pro Bowler, has a Super Bowl ring from his days in Tampa and all four seasons in Denver had been followed by appearances in the Pro Bowl.

In 15 seasons with the Broncos and Tampa Bay, Lynch has 26 interceptions, 13 sacks and 1,075 tackles. He won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in 2002.

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