One item from the Chiefs’ remaining extension to-do list has been checked off. Kansas City has reached an agreement to make Harrison Butker the league’s highest-paid kicker, as first reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds this pact will be four years in length and carry a value of $25.6M. $17.75M of that total is guaranteed. Butker was set to enter the final year of his pact, but Monday’s move means he will be tied to Kansas City through the 2028 campaign.
Kansas City’s top extension priorities have been laid out, with general manager Brett Veach naming center Creed Humphrey, right guard Trey Smith and linebacker Nick Bolton as players he hopes to keep in place beyond 2024. It remains to be seen what happens with the members of that trio, but in any case, Butker’s Chiefs tenure will continue for the foreseeable future.
The 29-year-old entered the league as a Panthers seventh-rounder in 2017, but his only appearances have come with Kansas City. Butker sports an accuracy rate of 89.1 percent on field-goal attempts and a 94.5 percent mark on extra points. This new pact carries an annual average value of $6.4M, which moves Butker ahead of Justin Tucker in the position’s pecking order. The Ravens All-Pro and the Eagles’ Jake Elliott were previously the only kickers attached to a $6M AAV.
Butker led the NFL in attempts in 2017 and 2019, topping the league in made field goals during the latter campaign. The Georgia Tech alum has demonstrated his leg strength on a number of occasions and his 62-yarder in 2022 was the longest made field goal in the NFL. His accuracy rate that season (75 percent) was the lowest of his career, but he rebounded last year by going 33-for-35 in the regular season. Butker also made all 19 of his playoff kicks.
The Chiefs have been the league’s elite on offense during much of the Patrick Mahomes era with the future Hall of Fame quarterback obviously being at the heart of that success. Butker has played his part by remaining consistent throughout his career, though, achieving an accuracy rate of at least 88.9 percent on field goals in six of his seven seasons. He was due to receive $3.84M in 2024 on his previous deal, but now he has a raise and long-term security in hand.