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Drew Brees' favorite target is now a happy one.

Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints reached an agreement on a that makes the pass-catcher the highest-paid tight end in the league, ¹ú²úÍâÁ÷ÍøMedia Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday, per a source involved in the deal. The team later confirmed that they .

Graham received a $12 million signing bonus and between $20 to $21 million of the deal is guaranteed, Rapoport reported. Graham will be paid -- more money than if he was ruled a wide receiver for franchise-tag purposes -- but will carry just a $4 million cap number for 2014. He will earn $21 million over the first two years of the contract and $30 million over three years.

The tight end's new contract places him above Rob Gronkowski's annual average salary of $9 million per season. Graham also got a higher guaranteed number than Gronk's $16.5 million on the Patriots' six-year, $53 million extension signed in 2012.

The four-year pact gives Graham another shot at free agency when he is 31 years old.

Graham and the Saints after the team placed the franchise tag on the player. Graham argued he should be tagged at the wide receiver level -- not the tight end level (a $5 million difference). The Saints.

On Monday, Rapoport reported that Graham appealed the league's arbitration decision that he is a tight end for franchise tag purposes. That move was insurance in case the two sides couldn't come to an agreement on a long-term deal. The appeal now becomes moot.

Graham and the Saints had until Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET deadline to get a long-term deal signed. Much like with the Saints in 2012, deadlines generally spurn action.

Graham certainly deserves to be the highest-paid tight end in the NFL. He led the league last year with 16 touchdowns and gobbled up 86 passes for 1,215 yards -- despite being slowed by a plantar fascia injury for most of the second half of the season.

The $10 million average salary pays Graham closer to $12 million receiver tag than the $7 million tight end tag.

On its face, that average salary is similar to the contract extension receiver signed this offseason -- Marshall got a slightly higher guarantee at $22.3 million.

Graham's guaranteed money also outdistances the recent tight end deals of Jared Cook and Dennis Pitta by $5 million.

The Saints tight end would slide next to Marshall, as the seventh-highest deal for a receiver based on yearly average, with the guaranteed number placing him at No. 6 among wideout contracts, .

The facts of the deal boil down simply: Graham got paid as a top-flight pass-catcher -- which he is -- and can test the market again in 2018. The Saints locked up their most dynamic playmaker for four seasons at a reasonable cost.

The latest "" bangs the table and predicts which stars will soon descend.