The New England Patriots have re-signed wide receiver Julian Edelman on a four-year contract worth a reported $17m (£10.2m).

Edelman recently revealed that he had opted to stay in New England despite testing free agency and receiving offers from a number of other teams.

One such team was the San Francisco 49ers, but even Edelman's boyhood club could not compete with the Patriots, and the 27-year-old said that it was a simple decision to rejoin the team that chose him in the seventh round of the 2009 Draft.

"It's a good day, it's a good day to be back, and it's awesome that I get to be there for another four years, and we'll see," Edelman told WAAF.

"It was definitely, it wasn't that tough to be honest with you. You go on these trips and these visits and everything, and you see these wonderful organizations. You know, I got to go home and see the Niners, and I grew up a huge Niners fan. But being in New England the last five years, that's just home.

"I mean, that's just home for me right now and just the way the mentality of the team, how everything's done - the scheme, the players, the locker room, the fans."

Edelman recorded 105 catches for 1,056 yards and six touchdowns last season.