Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme signed a five-year contract extension on Thursday, one which is expected to keep the veteran in the fold until 2014.

The Charlotte Observer reported the deal is worth $42.5 million with $20 million guaranteed.

The 34-year-old signal caller had been in the final year of his previous contract and was set to count over $11 million towards Carolina's salary cap in 2009.

"I'm excited. The first thing people will look at is the money and all that. It's all about being able to know that I can finish my career here in Carolina, Delhomme admitted. "That's what I've wanted; that's all I've ever wanted. "I was lucky enough to come here and start playing for this organization."

Delhomme enjoyed a solid if unspectacular campaign in 2008 coming off Tommy John surgery on his elbow which cost him most of the previous year, throwing for 3,288 yards and 15 touchdowns against 12 interceptions in 16 contests as the Panthers won the NFC South with a 12-4 record.

An undrafted free agent out of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, Delhomme has racked up 17,877 passing yards with 115 touchdowns and 76 interceptions over 86 games with the Saints (1999, 2002) and Panthers (2003-present).

He is the franchise's all-time leader in pass attempts (2,348), completions (1,402), touchdown passes, as well as most 300-yard passing games (nine).

The Louisiana native has led the Panthers to a 49-30 record in the regular season during his tenure, and a 5-3 mark in the postseason, which included a loss in Super Bowl XXXVIII to the New England Patriots.