The Detroit Lions reached an agreement Friday night with Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford to make him the first pick in the NFL draft on Saturday.

The Lions announced the six-year deal with Stafford in a news release Saturday afternoon. The deal is for $72 million, with $41.7 million guaranteed. The contract could be worth as much as $78 million if Stafford achieves all of his playing incentives. The guaranteed money tops the $41 million in guarantees Albert Haynesworth received from the Washington Redskins earlier this offseason.

Stafford was out to dinner with about 20 people, including his parents, in Manhattan when he got the news. He stepped outside to talk to agent Tom Condon, who had just completed negotiations with the Lions.

"I went back in and gave everybody the thumbs up," Stafford said.

Then Stafford picked up the check.

The Lions intensified negotiations for Stafford the past three days, knowing they also could reach a less expensive deal with Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry. After Curry's agents visited Detroit's minicamp during the weekend, Lions president Tom Lewand focused on Stafford.

"It's crazy," Stafford said. "I feel like you can't write it any better than that. It's a wild story, and it's good to be living it."

The Stafford deal is the richest given to a draft choice in history, topping the five-year, $57.5 million contract the Dolphins gave to tackle Jake Long last season, and the six-year, $72 million contract Matt Ryan received from the Atlanta Falcons.

"We have a number of needs," first-year coach Jim Schwartz said. "The No. 1 need is talent."

Said Lions general manager Martin Mayhew: "It's up to us to develop him and get good players around him."