THE CANADIAN PRESS

CALGARY -- Henry Burris's four-year contract extension allows him to be a Calgary Stampeder quarterback to the twilight of his career.

The 34-year-old from Spiro, Okla., is now in the Stampeder fold until 2012. Burris led Calgary to a 13-5 record last season and was named the most valuable player in their Grey Cup victory over Montreal.

"We want to be here until we hang up that jersey one day," Burris said Friday at a news conference attended by his wife Nicole and their two young sons.

"This team has an opportunity to do something that teams dream of doing and that's hopefully forming a dynasty. That's what a lot of guys in this locker room talk about and we're going to work our butts off until we can make that happen."

Calgary opens the 2009 season at home Wednesday against Montreal.

Burris has been Calgary's starter since signing as a free agent in 2005. He was a third-string quarterback for the Stamps behind Jeff Garcia and Dave Dickenson when they won the Grey Cup in 1998.

Burris then played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears and Berlin Thunder before re-joining the Stamps.

His salary on his previous contract was reported to be $350,000 annually. Burris wanted to be paid like a premiere CFL quarterback, but also wanted the Stampeders to be able to stay under the Canadian Football League's salary cap of $4.2 million.

"As a player, you always want to get your market value and whatever that might be," Burris said. "My No. 1 issue was to make sure we could retain everybody. We've built something special here. To keep the core intact was definitely important."

The core is several players who have played for the Stamps as long or longer than Burris: receivers Jeremaine Copeland, Nik Lewis, Brett Ralph and Ken-Yon Rambo, running back Joffrey Reynolds, offensive linemen Godfrey Ellis and Jeff Pilon, defensive tackle Randy Chevrier and kickers Burke Dales and Sandro DeAngelis.

Burris's contract extension indicates stability in the organization, said Lewis, who also signed a multi-year deal in the pre-season.

"It makes a big statement that we're setting the standard and we're going to be here for awhile, so you've got to deal with us," Lewis said. "Anytime you can get a group to stay together as many years as we have, it's great."

Burris has developed into the top rushing quarterback in the league with a powerful and accurate arm. But the question was always when he was going to lead a team to a Grey Cup title?

He did that last year in a 22-14 victory over Montreal. The six-foot-one, 220-pound pivot made 28 of 37 passes for 328 yards and a touchdown, plus ran for another 79 yards in the championship game.

Burris capped his 2008 campaign with career highs in completions (381), passing yards (5,094) and touchdowns (39). He was second on the Stampeders in rushing yards with 595 and played in every game.

Burris's durability makes him a sound long-term investment, according to Stamps coach and GM John Hufnagel.

"He's a very athletic quarterback in good shape who has a good history of health and not injury," Hufnagel said. "He understands the position. He doesn't put himself in harm's way very often.

"He has survived a lot of hits and has recovered from anything that might be deemed a bump or a bruise, so he hasn't missed a lot of football games during his career."

Burris's contract is up for renewal when he's 38 and doesn't consider that age too old to play. He pointed out he really didn't start playing a lot until he was almost 28 years old.

"I'm still relatively young," Burris explained. "Thankfully I've been able to dodge the big injury and the last couple years put in the work in the weight room. I really didn't know how to lift because I was a quarterback.

"Now I understand the physical part of the game. I've really dedicated myself to it. Nicole enjoys it when I'm walking on the beach now. I don't look skinny out there."

In other Stampeders news, veteran fullback Teyo Johnson has returned to the Stamps after announcing prior to training camp he'd retired. Johnson says a cellphone business he's been trying to start won't get underway until later this year.

"I would rather he'd been here at training camp, but that was the agreement we had, that he was going to pursue this business opportunity and if it hit a snag, he was going to call me," Hufnagel said.

"Now I've got to try and get him in some sort of shape. I've got a few days to do that. We'll see where it may go and if he can earn a spot on this football team."

The Stampeders need reinforcement on offence as linemen Jeff Pilon (knee) and Derek Armstrong (torn tricep) won't play the season-opener and Jesse Newman (ankle) is questionable.

Calgary's receivers were also hobbling Friday as Ken-Yon Rambo, Copeland, Lewis and Jabari Arthur (foot) took few reps.

"We did have some problems at the receiver position today, but it was Day A and some players were just resting for a day and others like Jabari are a problem," Hufnagel said. "We'll find the nature of that problem later today."