The lengthy contract discussions that culminated in Thursday's extension agreement between the New York Jets and tailback Curtis Martin brought together two of the NFL's most creative negotiators.

And in the case of the Martin contract, player agent Eugene Parker and Jets assistant general manager Mike Tannenbaum -- a couple of astute numbers crunchers and, just as significant, two guys well versed in the art of the deal -- definitely needed to summon their combined creative skills.

	Curtis Martin has rushed for 9,267 yards in seven seasons.

There is no denying the importance of Martin to the franchise. One of the NFL's premier runners, but still relatively unknown despite playing in the nation's media capital and posting seven straight seasons of 1,100 yards or more, Martin might actually be a better person than he is a player. So both on and off the field, he holds tremendous value to the Jets, a team that still operates in the lengthy shadow of the New York Giants.

But as much as the Jets wanted to retain Martin for the long term, and also reduce his exorbitant salary cap value for this year and next, the club faced a conundrum of sorts: At age 29, Martin is the eighth-oldest starter among the tailbacks in the league. To extend his contract, yet still address the issue of age and a potential career-ending injury, was a difficult puzzle to divine.

While the seven-year veteran has defined durability, missing just four games in seven seasons, an NFL Players Association study indicates running backs have the shortest career expectancy of players at any position. Jets owner Woody Johnson was particularly concerned during the negotiations with the possibility of a career-threatening injury to Martin and the future impact it would have on the New York salary cap.

The concern, even with Martin's track record, was a legitimate one.

So how was it that the Jets were able to sign Martin to a contract that will run at least five years, and probably eight seasons because of a team-held option, and pay him a $10 million signing bonus and guaranteed money that totals $18.4 million? And how could they do so while ameliorating some of the concerns over injury?

Credit the resourcefulness of Tannenbaum and Parker.

ESPN.com has learned that, as part of the contract, Martin is legally bound to fund a disability insurance policy, and to assign the Jets as beneficiary. So that if Martin suffered a career-ending injury, the Jets would be able to recoup at least a portion of the signing bonus.

There have been similar stipulations in the contracts of other players, with the team able to gain cash relief. But here is what makes the Martin policy so unique: In the event of an injury, the team would not only regain cash, but would also recoup salary cap room, because the insurance rights have been ceded to the team.

"It's very different from anything that's been done," Parker said, and team officials confirmed that. "I mean, getting the money back is key, but teams have not been able to regain the cap room, which is almost as important to a lot of franchises. It's the first time it's been done in the NFL, but I'll bet a lot of teams are going to study it now, because it addresses big concerns. It's as close to a win-win as you can get in an injury situation."

Tannenbaum worked on the concept, apparently first posed by Parker, for two weeks. It had to fly with the insurance company and Jets attorneys but, more important, with the NFL Management Council. The arm of the league that scrutinizes and monitors contracts approved the unique design, ruling that because Martin has assigned the policy rights to the team, he essentially would be repaying a prorated share of his signing bonus if his career ended because of an injury.

Said Parker: "It goes to show that, when both sides are motivated to get a deal done, you find a way to make it work. There was never an adversarial stance taken by the Jets on this contract. Mike is always a professional. We just had to create a formula that clicked and we did that."

Parker has for years ranked near the top of his profession. Tannenbaum is not well known to fans outside New York, but clearly is one of the premier "capologists" in the league, and is destined to someday be a club president or general manager. In fact, he would have been general manager at Tampa Bay had Bill Parcells not backed out of his Bucs deal earlier this year. The Jets rarely lose players they have to keep because of Tannenbaum's acumen. The agreement with Martin, and then Friday's new deal with wide receiver Wayne Chrebet are simply the latest testimony to his expertise.

One final note on the Martin deal: The team is almost forced to exercise a $2.9 million option payment for three additional seasons (2007-2009), since the deal includes a "default provision" if the option isn't picked up. In the end, though, how long the Jets keep Martin might actually come down to how close he is to the NFL career rushing record. Martin has reiterated this week that his goal is to retire with the record, which would certainly be a huge public relations coup in New York, if he set the mark and finished his career with the Jets.

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