When he was released by the Denver Broncos last week, Bill Romanowski said it might not take him long to find a new job.

The 14-year veteran linebacker was right.

	Romanowski

Romanowski reached agreement on a contract with the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday.

The contract is for seven years. Romanowski will earn $2 million in 2002, with a $1.3 million signing bonus and a $700,000 base salary. Between his base salary of $2.2 million and various bonuses, Romanowski was scheduled to make $2.9 million in 2002 with the Broncos.

"It's like it was meant to be, me and the Raiders, eventually," Romanowski said. "They make you feel like you belong. It's a team that doesn't look at things like chronological age, and just looks to see if you're a football player. I wanted to go out with a winner and winning is what Oakland is all about."

This marks the second stint in the Bay Area for Romanowski, who began his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers. It would also mean Romanowski will be playing in the AFC West, and facing the Broncos twice annually. He said the latter element was not a factor in his decision.

Romanowski, 35, visited over the weekend with Kansas City Chiefs officials and it was believed that Chiefs defensive coordinator Greg Robinson, who held the same position in Denver, was pushing hard for the team to sign him.

The Raiders believe Romanowski can still be a starter. Oakland is expected to release outside linebacker Elijah Alexander for cap reasons and there is speculation that William Thomas might retire during the offseason.

Denver released Romanowski last week after the two sides could not reach an amenable accord on his contract situation and the linebacker declined a backup spot on the roster.

Romanowski seriously considered reconfiguring his contract, essentially by reducing his $2.2 million base salary for 2002 and converting much of it into incentives and bonuses, but his basic competitiveness would not permit him to reconcile accepting a backup job. Broncos coaches want to elevate two-year veteran Ian Gold, a second-round pick in the 2000 draft, to the starter's role.

Denver saved slightly more than $1 million by releasing Romanowski.

A controversial figure at times, particularly when it was alleged last year that he and his wife had illegally obtained prescription drugs, Romanowski played six seasons in Denver and he was an integral component of the Broncos' two Super Bowl championship.

"Great years," Romanowski said of his time in Denver, "but things change."

Romanowski has long been one of the Raider Nation's favorite targets for abuse at the Coliseum.

"I'm a hated player around the league, but when I'm on a team, I'm a guy you like," Romanowski said. "I can't wait to hear these fans cheering for me. I wish I could run out on that field tomorrow."

Despite a diminishing skill level, he started all 16 games in 2001 and finished with 69 tackles, seven sacks, two forced fumbles and two passes defensed. Gold, 23, is regarded as a much more athletic player and the Broncos want to see if the special teams prowess he demonstrated during his first two seasons translates into productivity while playing from scrimmage.

While most personnel directors agree Romanowski has slipped considerably the past two or three years, he remains a savvy and durable player.

The former Boston College star, viewed by some as a cheap-shot artist but universally admired by teammates, has played with three different teams: San Francisco (1988-93), Philadelphia (1994-95) and Denver (1996-2001). He played in the 1996 and '98 Pro Bowl games.

For his career, Romanowski has appeared in 224 games with 203 starts, and has 1,007 tackles, 33½ sacks, 17 interceptions, 16 forced fumbles and 73 passes defensed.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.