COLLINGWOOD skipper Scott Pendlebury will end his illustrious career in the black and white, signing a new four-year contract extension.
Pendlebury, who was already contracted for next year, has inked a new deal that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2020 season.
A gleeful Magpie president Eddie McGuire announced the news to the 1500 guests at the club's best and fairest awards night at Crown Palladium on Friday night.
"To have our captain step forward and do this is a significant moment for this football club in its modern era," McGuire declared.
Pendlebury would have become an unrestricted free agent at the expiration of his existing 2016 contract, with rival clubs lining up to secure his services.
But McGuire said the skipper deserved credit for placing the club's future ahead of his own.
"Scott Pendlebury did not want to disrupt a season that he sees as being pivotal for the future of our football club," McGuire said.
"He initiated discussions, conducted them in a business-like, but always gentlemanly fashion, with an eye not only on his future but for that of the Collingwood Football Club.
"It was an absolute delight to negotiate for Neil Balme and for Gary Pert and for the list management team, led by Derek Hine, to do a deal that was as simple as it was fantastic."
Pendlebury said in a statement released by the club on Friday night that it was a no-brainer to sign on the dotted line.
"The direction the club is taking really excites me," he said.
"We have a solid group of young players who have got a taste of senior footy and we have the right program and people in place to take this group to the next level.
"I'm proud to captain this club and want to be part of what the future holds."
Pendlebury's list of accomplishments speak for themselves, with the 27-year-old a five-time All Australian, dual Anzac medallist and the 2010 Norm Smith medallist. He was also part of the club's drought-breaking premiership that year.
The star on-baller has also won three Copeland Trophies and has a chance to add to his collection on Friday night.
Pendlebury, pick No.5 in the 2005 NAB AFL Draft, has played 214 games for the Magpies since making his debut in round one, 2006.
