Continuing my look at the 10 highest-paid members of the Carolina Panthers based on their 2015 salary-cap number is No. 7, middle linebacker Luke Kuechly.

2015 salary-cap number: $4,002,283

NFL average at position: $16,749,499

Total contract: Kuechly is in the final year of his four-year rookie deal that paid him $12,578,602 with a $7,588,072 signing bonus.

How he made the roster: He was selected with the ninth pick of the 2012 draft out of Boston College.

Impact: As general manager Dave Gettleman said when discussing Kuechly at the NFL owners meetings, “Some guys are myths. He ain’t.’’ No arguments here. Kuechly truly is a tackling machine as he was nicknamed at Boston College. He led the NFL in tackles this past season with 153, and he has 473 in three seasons. He was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2013 and the league’s defensive rookie of the year before that. He’s a two-time Pro Bowler and a team captain. You can’t say enough about him.

Long-term future: Gettleman said on Tuesday the Panthers plan to exercise the fifth-year option on Kuechly, which ties him up through 2016. That doesn’t preclude Carolina from signing him to a long-term deal before then. He’s a keeper.