Sometimes, it pays to run the football well. The San Francisco 49ers agreed to a four-year contract extension with starting running back Frank Gore after having a standout season last year. Gore rushed for a team-record 1,695 yards, which led the NFC in rushing. Gore was only scheduled to make $435,000 next season before the extension. Now, Gore will be under contract with the 49ers through 2011 in a deal that contains more than $14 million in guaranteed money.

"He agreed yesterday," said 49ers head coach Mike Nolan. "He had a good day. It's a little early; Frank just finished his second year. But we identified somebody we want in Frank. He's a young player and we wanted to extend it and it's still very early in his career."

Besides running the ball, Gore also caught 41 passes for 485 yards. On the season, he averaged 5.4 yards per carry and was a major reason why the 49ers were in playoff contention for such a long period of time, compared to what people around the league had expected. The 49ers wanted to hammer out a deal with Gore before his value rose beyond their control in the coming years.

"He had an outstanding year," Nolan said. "For us, it was not a fluke that he had such a good year. It's not like he lucked into it."