If there was any doubt that Jeremiah Trotter would go down in Philadelphia sports history as one of the most beloved Eagles of all time, that was erased yesterday when Trotter signed a 5-year, $15 million Eagles contract.

Five years, fifteen million dollars. For a guy with knees so bad he can't pass a physical, that's sounds about right. Why the love?

In signing that deal, Trotter violated all the codes of his Professional Athlete Handbook and turned down a deal worth more years - and more money - from the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Eagles have a history of letting players go if they are unable to strike a deal before free agency. Fans figured the same would happen with Trotter and were angry about his apparent change of heart. Trotter is the same guy who came back to the Eagles last season for the league minimum after a failed stint with the Redskins because, as he claimed, Philadelphia was where his heart was. All season long, he talked about how happy and relived he was to be back with the Eagles, and how he never wanted to make the mistake of leaving just for money again. Yet, here was Trotter meeting with the Chiefs and scheduled to meet with the Bengals as fans all over the cty were left to scratch their heads and wonder if they had been conned.

And then, yesterday afternoon, those fears were put to rest as news of Trotter's signing broke. As the story goes, Trotter was in a Kansas City hotel room on Thursday night when he was overcome with lonliness. He had gone to Kansas City hoping for a big-money contract offer, which would have made leaving the Birds easy. Or so he thought. In that hotel room late at night, he realized he was hoping for the opposite.

So he picked up the phone, called Andy Reid, and told him that his heart was in Philly. Or, in Trotter's words, "If we can get a deal done, I'll be on the first thing smokin' headed back to Philly."

The next day, a deal was done. It ended up being less years, and less money, than what Kansas City offered. But as Trotter will tell you, sometimes there are more important things than money.

"I was worried about putting the fans through that whole ordeal again," Trotter said. "For some crazy reason, they love 'The Axeman.' I don't know why, but they do. The fans definitely weighed heavily in my decision."

These things happen once in a while in sports. But they never seem to happen in Philadelphia. The pressure of playing in a city so passionate, demanding, and frustrated typically wears on athletes - especially star athletes. But finally, to the relief of fans, someone actually gets is. "This city has the same attitude I have. I play with a passion," Trotter said yesterday after arriving at Philadelphia Airport to a loud applause.

Legendary status: achieved.