Chiefs' Justin Houston: 'Once you get paid, it's not like you won the lottery'

Justin Houston got the phone call on Tuesday saying he needed to come to Kansas City. He figured this was the end of his year long quest for a new contract from the Kansas City Chiefs.

"I knew they wouldn't have me fly out here for nothing," Houston told reporters on a Wednesday conference call after he signed a reported six-year, $101 million contract.

There is always a concern over a player's motivation after signing a new (massive) contract as Houston has. However, the Chiefs LB is absolutely saying all the right things.

"Once you get paid, it's not like you won the lottery," Houston said. "You still got work to do. You still have to prove yourself. You can still get better each and every day so that's my goal."

I'm optimistic that Houston will be a very productive player for the Chiefs for a long time. He doesn't strike me as the guy who takes the money and runs.

"Right now the season is right here so I'm focused on football right now," Houston said when asked how he plans on spending his money "I'll think about that maybe during the offseason."

Here are a few other things Houston had to say during his press conference:

• On whether it was important for him to get more than JJ Watt's contract: "That's up to my agent. I just made sure I took care of everything I needed to do on the field."
• Would he have shown up for training camp if he didn't have a deal? "Probably not ... I'm not sure [how long I would've held out]."
• The Chiefs told him at the end of the season to be patient and that a deal would be done. And they were right.
• "I want to be known as one of the best to ever play the game. That's my motivation."
• He said he talked to DJ and Tamba Hali one and off throughout the process.