When Mike DeVito signed a National Letter of Intent to play football at the University of Maine, he accepted a scholarship of $1,000 for his first year.
That small initial investment by the Black Bears has paid enormous dividends for the defensive lineman from Wellfleet, Mass.
The 28-year-old DeVito on Tuesday agreed to a three-year, $12.66 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.
DeVito, a 6-foot-3, 305-pounder, was a free agent after spending the first six years of his professional career with the New York Jets. The Chiefs’ new defensive coordinator is Bob Sutton for whom DeVito played in New York.
DeVito was a two-time All-Colonial Athletic Association selection at UMaine in 2005 and 2006 and earned first-team honors as a senior, when he served as a team captain.
In 2007, he signed with the Jets as a free agent. DeVito played in 82 games, including 38 starts, in New York.
He has registered 202 career tackles, including 2.5 sacks, and has forced six fumbles. Last season, he started 15 of 16 games and finished with 52 tackles and a sack.
Kansas City continued its roster overhaul by agreeing to terms with tight end Anthony Fasano and quarterback Chase Daniel.
Fasano, a free agent who had 41 receptions last season with the Dolphins, would play behind receiving tight end Tony Moeaki.
Moeaki is a better athlete than Fasano, 28, but has durability concerns.
Daniel would slide in at No. 2 on the depth chart behind Alex Smith, whose trade from the San Francisco 49ers became official Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Daniel, 26, spent four seasons with the New Orleans Saints but attempted only nine passes playing behind Drew Brees.
NFL notebook
In other NFL moves:
–Santonio Holmes agreed to a restructure his contract with the New York Jets. Releasing Holmes would’ve come with a salary cap charge of $11.25 million.
Also, the Jets released defensive tackle Siona Pouha, who signed a three-year deal last summer, saving approximately $3.75 million in cap space.
–Longtime starting wide receiver Kevin Walter was released by the Houston Texans, ending his seven-year stint with the franchise.
–The Buffalo Bills released quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. He was due to receive a $3 million roster bonus and a base salary of $4.25 million in 2013.
–The Denver Broncos agreed to terms with free agent offensive guard Louis Vasquez on a four-year deal worth between $23 million and $25 million.
–The Philadelphia Eagles parted with veteran cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha as expected. Asomugha will count $4 million against the Eagles’ salary cap next season, but the team wanted to avoid paying his base salary of $15 million in 2013.
–The Steelers re-signed linebacker Larry Foote, a target of multiple teams running a 3-4 defense, including the Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns.
The Steelers hosted inside linebacker Dan Connor, released by the Cowboys, and could still add Connor as a backup on the inside.
Also, they have tendered offers to restricted free agents Jonathan Dwyer, Steve McLendon, Isaac Redman and Emmanuel Sanders.
–After clearing salary-cap room with the release of veteran cornerback Antoine Winfield, the Minnesota Vkings reached an agreement to re-sign offensive tackle Phil Loadholt to a long-term contract. Cutting Winfield cleared $7.25 million off the books.
Also, Adrian Peterson’s Pro Bowl lead blocker, fullback Jerome Felton, re-signed with the Minnesota Vikings. Felton signed a three-year deal worth $7.5 million according to NFL.com.
Also, Jerome Simpson agreed to a one-year, $2 million deal to return to the Vikings.
–The Arizona Cardinals signed free-agent safety Rashad Johnson to a three-year deal. A third-round pick in 2009, Johnson appeared in 15 games last season.
–The Tennessee Titans reached agreements with guard Andy Levitre and tight end Delanie Walker, according to multiple reports.
Levitre will become one of the league’s highest-paid guards after agreeing to a five-year, $39 million deal, ESPN reported. Walker agreed to a four-year contract.
Also, Titans offensive guard Steve Hutchinson announced his retirement via Twitter. The five-time All-Pro was a first-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks and also played for the Minnesota Vikings. He started all 169 games he played in his career.
–Tight end Randy McMichael and defensive tackle Antonio Garay were released by the Chargers. McMichael was owed a roster bonus of $250,000 Saturday. Cutting him saved San Diego $1.5 million in cap space. Garay was due a $1.5 million roster bonus Saturday but releasing him saved the Chargers $5.13 million.
Meanwhile, tight end John Phillips and the San Diego Chargers reached agreement on a three-year contract, according to ESPN.
–The Detroit Lions signed defensive end Willie Young to a second-round tender offer worth slightly more than $2 million, The Detroit News reported.
The team also reached agreement on a one-year deal with restricted free agent safety Amari Spievey.
–Hours before free agency opened, Anthony Spencer signed a one-year, $10.627 million franchise tender with the Dallas Cowboys.
The move, which confirmed earlier reports that he had agreed to the tender, gives the Cowboys until July 15 to work out a long-term contract with Spencer, who is expected to move to defensive end from outside linebacker in the Cowboys’ new 4-3 scheme next season.
–Veteran cornerback Aaron Ross is returning to the New York Giants after spending one season with Jacksonville. He will sign with the Giants, USA Today reported, upon successfully completing a physical.
–The St. Louis Rams signed free-agent tight end Jared Cook to a five-year contract, reuniting the tight end with coach Jeff Fisher. Cook, 26, is familiar with Fisher, having played for him with the Tennessee Titans.
–The Carolina Panthers released linebacker James Anderson, saving the salary more than $4 million in 2013.
Anderson started 12 games at strong-side linebacker in 2012 and played all seven years of his career in Carolina.
–Free agent Pro Bowl left tackle Jermon Bushrod agreed to five-year contract worth a reported $36 million with the Chicago Bears, filling a long-standing need for a blind-side protector for quarterback Jay Cutler.