Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker signed a 4-year $26 million contract extension on Monday, making him the highest-paid kicker in the NFL on a per-year basis, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported.
The extension for the 29-year-old kicker comes after another season where he ranked among the top kickers in field goal percentage, extra-point percentage, and total points. Last year, Butker also helped his team win its second-straight Super Bowl.
Butker’s new deal includes $17.75 million guaranteed. The kicker represented and negotiated the deal himself, per Schefter. Butker becomes the highest-paid NFL kicker just over two months after he enraged many on the Left following his viral commencement speech at Benedictine College.
Highest paid kickers in the NFL on a per-year basis:
🏈Harrison Butker: $6.4M
🏈Justin Tucker: $6M
🏈Jake Elliott: $6M
🏈Matt Gay: $5.62M
🏈Graham Gano: $5.5M https://t.co/EMMxvwnjgL— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 5, 2024
The three-time Super Bowl-winning kicker sparked outrage after telling the graduating class that his success was all because “a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.” During the address, Butker also slammed Pride Month and President Joe Biden’s pro-abortion policies.
Butker’s commencement address sparked outcry and mockery among some celebrities and athletes, including Katy Perry, Chelsea Handler, and Serena Williams. A Change.org petition also called on the Chiefs to drop Butker. The petition, which garnered nearly 240,000 signatures, called Butker’s comments “sexist, homophobic, anti-trans, anti-abortion, and racist,” but the team’s ownership, head coach, and Butker’s teammates stood by their kicker amid the outrage.
Days after the backlash, Butker stood by his comments, saying that the “shocking level of hate” would not deter him from being “unapologetic” about his faith.
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“If it wasn’t clear that the timeless Catholic values are hated by many, it is now,” Butker said at the Courage Under Fire gala in Nashville on May 24. “Over the past few days, my beliefs, or what people think I believe, have been the focus of countless discussions around the globe.”
“In my seven years in the NFL, I’ve become familiar with positive and negative comments. But the majority of them revolve around my performance on the field,” Butker added. “But, as to be expected, the more I’ve talked about what I value most, my Catholic faith, the more polarizing I’ve become. It’s a decision I’ve consciously made, and one I do not regret at all.”
