The seven-year, $46.25 million contract that Fresno State quarterback David Carr officially signed over the weekend voids after four seasons, provided he reaches any of a number of predetermined performance benchmarks.

However, it allows the Houston Texans to "buy back" the voided years and retain the first overall selection in the 2002 draft beyond the initial four-year period.

According to salary documents obtained by ESPN.com, the initial signing bonus for the contract is $10.92 million. Carr will earn a base salary of $1.04 million for 2002. On March 1, 2003, he is due an option bonus of $3.08 million. So essentially Carr is all but guaranteed a signing bonus of $14 million, the number the Texans and agent Michael Sullivan of Octagon had agreed upon early in negotiations, and total compensation of $16.25 million for the first three seasons of the deal.

The $16.25 million is a record for the first three years of a rookie contract, topping the $15.3 million that was guaranteed the first overall choice in the 2002 draft, quarterback Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons. The Vick contract also was negotiated by Sullivan.

Carr's base salaries after his rookie season are $550,000 (for 2003), $660,000 (2004) and $5.5 million (2005).

At that point, unless Carr is a total bust or has suffered a catastrophic injury, the 2006-2008 seasons will be voided.

The Texans then have two options. They can "buy back" either two or three of the voided seasons.

Under the two-season scenario, Houston would pay a bonus of $5.5 million and Carr's base salaries would become $5 million for 2006 and $5.25 million for 2007. If the team opts to "buy back" three years, it would require a bonus of $8 million and base salaries would be $5.25 million for each of the 2006 and 2007 campaigns and $6 million for the 2008 season.

Carr can also earn "escalators" -- clauses that raise his scheduled base salaries -- starting with the 2004 season by finishing in the top five in the league in any of the five most prominent statistical categories for a quarterback.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.