Jim Owczarski

jowczarski@enquirer.com

The phone rang, and rang.

One of Giovani Bernard's first calls after signing a three-year, $15.5 million extension with the Cincinnati Bengals on Wednesday was to his father, Yvens, at his dry cleaning business in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

There was no answer.

"He probably doesn’t even know right now," Giovani Bernard laughed. "I'll try his cell later. Hopefully he’ll pick up, but when he does I’m sure he’ll be happy. But I’m sure he’ll still be at work at 5 a.m. or 4 a.m. or whatever time he gets there. That’s just how he is.”

The 24-year-old running back laughed at the idea that his dad might take a vacation now, and joked that he strategically planned his extension for the day after all the running backs got together for a position-group dinner on Tuesday. But, he did text the offensive line to essentially say, "Pick a date, dinner is on me."

"It was definitely one of those things where I knew one check was coming out somewhere," he said with another laugh.

Bernard had every right to be in a good mood as the deal boosts his 2016 salary from just over $1 million in base earnings to over $6 million and an average value per year of just over $5 million, numbers that will make him one of the top 10 paid running backs in the NFL.

But for the 24-year-old, it was about getting a deal done with the Bengals, not the number on the contract.

"The biggest thing for me was I wanted to be in Cincinnati," he said. "There’s a lot more that I want to do with this football team that I haven’t had a chance to do yet. There’s a lot that I want to do. So for me, it wasn’t about the money. As far as for my agent (Bardia Ghahremani of International Sports Agency), that’s just how things go. He’s the person that wants to get the most money. He’s the one that’s allowed to be greedy. For me, I wanted to be in the city, so whatever that number was that (we) came to an agreement (on) that worked was when I wanted to sign. It worked out great. I’m in this awesome city, man. It’s awesome to have this done."

Mike Tomlin, Gio Bernard talk big hits

As a second-round pick, Bernard signed a four-year rookie deal in 2013, making him eligible for unrestricted free agency at the end of this season. But Bernard insisted both to the media, and to his agent, that he wasn't interested in keeping up with negotiations or rumor. Bernard said he spoke to Ghahremani twice since February about his situation, and that was it.

“It really was just like that," Bernard said. "It’s crazy because I’ve just seen guys that talk about contract stuff all the time in the locker room and I think it clouds their mind. I’m the type of guy that if things are supposed to be, it’ll happen. If not, then it won’t. Obviously it was meant to be and it all happened. I’m happy and I’m glad I’m going to be in this awesome city for a number of more years.”

Giovani Bernard on Beyond the Stripes

As for what he wants to accomplish in those years, Bernard said he has clear goals:

"I want to win a super Bowl here. And not just for myself but for the city. The city has been through so much and I’ve been a part of that. And it goes before me. They’ve been through a lot of things here. I want to be a part of that turn for this city. It’s really cliché, but it’s for the city. I really want this to happen, to get a Super Bowl here. It’ll happen. We’ve put together a really good team and we have the pieces, it’s just a matter of being able to turn it out now.”

Bernard is the second young player the team has extended since the start of voluntary workouts, following safety Shawn Williams' four-year deal in early May.

The running back was among a quartet of players the team has targeted for extensions since Williams signed, using "roll over" money from last year's salary cap. That group now includes cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, right guard Kevin Zeitler and H-back Ryan Hewitt.

Bernard is coming off a season in which he compiled 1,202 yards of total offense and two touchdowns in 16 games. In his career, the dual-threat running back out of North Carolina has amassed 3,440 yards of total offense and 17 touchdowns.

Giovani Bernard knows why, and how far, he has run