Jeff Goodman of WEEI.com/FoxSports.com has learned that Paul Pierce has agreed to a four-year, $61 million deal with the Celtics. The Boston Herald was first to report the agreement. Free agent contracts can’t officially be signed until July 8.

Pierce opted out of the final year of his previous contract Wednesday, walking away from what would have been a $21.5 million salary in 2010-11 to test the free-agent waters.

Pierce has long stated that he wanted to retire as a member of the Celtics, and this contract should allow him to do so. The 12-year veteran has scored 19,899 points in his career, third only to John Havlicek (26,395) and Larry Bird (21,791) in franchise history.

For more see the Celtics team page at weei.com/celtics. ^[3]