Dietz contract extension should be done early next week

If all goes according to plan, Brett Dietz should receive a healthy raise sometime next week. The second-year quarterback, who burst on the scene last year as a rookie and sparked the Storm's second-half resurgence, is close to signing a contract extension that will keep him in Tampa for the next three years.

The Storm is believed to be offering Dietz a three-year deal worth in the neigborhood of $250,000 ($70,000 the first year, $85,000 the second and $100,000 the third). The value of the contract would increase if certain incentives were met.

I spoke with Dietz Thursday evening as he was driving from his home in Indiana to Tampa to begin training with the Storm (He was in Chatanooga, and it was raining, for what it's worth).

Dietz said he knows that Tampa is a place he wants to play for a long time - provided, of course, that the NFL doesn't come calling - and that he is anxious to get the contract completed.

"I like Tampa a lot, like the coaches, like the new owner," Dietz said. "It looks like everything’s going in a positive way. That’s pretty much the reason I wanted to stay."

Dietz, signed midway through the season off the practice squad of the Kansas City Brigade, completed 196-of-300 passes (65.3 percent) for 2,374 with 47 touchdowns and seven interceptions while filling in for injured starters John Kaleo and Stoney Case.

Storm coach and general manager Tim Marcum has made re-signing Dietz a priority this offseason. Dietz was under contract for one more season at just above the league minimum.

"He's earned it," Marcum said.

Marucm said he hoped the deal would be complete by next week.

Dietz, who served as an assistant coach at NAIA college Marian this offseason, will then begin looking at houses in Tampa. He and his new wife, Dana, plan on re-locating to the area. Currently, she is a schoolteacher in Indianapolis (they married in August).