In the four seasons since being chosen in the sixth-round (207th overall) out of Howard University, Indianapolis Colts safety Antoine Bethea has

Bethea has earned a Super Bowl ring, player in another Super Bowl, was named to two Pro Bowls, and signed a four-year, $27 million dollar contract extension that will pay him $18 million dollars over the next two seasons.

Oh, and Bethea turned 26 years old on Wednesday.

Bethea also considers himself to be one of the Colts' leaders.

"Feel that I am (a team leader), not be cocky or anything," Bethea told David Teel of The Daily Press. "I like to lead by example. When it’s time for someone to speak up, I feel like I can speak up.

"You have to earn that respect. I feel I’ve earned it. I’m pretty sure my teammates would say, 'If he says something, we’ll listen.'"

With Bob Sanders struggling to stay healthy the last four seasons, Bethea has been a stabilizing presence in the back-end of the Colts' secondary. A starter in all 59 regular season games he's been active, Bethea has 351 tackles, 11 interceptions, 21 passes defensed, with a pair of forced fumbles and fumble recoveries during his career.

Bethea also has 42 tackles and 4 interceptions in 9 post-season games.