Chiefs sign kicker Harrison Butker to record contract after controversial offseason
Harrison Butker is staying in Kansas City.
The kicker has signed a new four-year, $25.6 million deal with the Chiefs that will keep him with the franchise through 2028, according to multiple reports. Butker negotiated the deal himself, without an attorney or agent, according to ESPN.
The deal makes Butker the highest-paid kicker in the NFL, surpassing Baltimore’s Justin Tucker’s 2022 record.
Butker, who made the winning field goal in Kansas City’s Super Bowl victory two years ago, confirmed the deal on X, saying, “There’s no place I’d rather be than with the Chiefs, excited to finalize a 4-year extension. To the Heights!”
Butker has been a standout for the Chiefs, converting 89.1 percent of his field goals (197-of-221) in seven seasons with the franchise and making 70 percent (28-of-40) of his attempts from 50+ yards. He has been a key cog in the team’s deep playoff runs, making 32 of 36 field goals (88.9 percent) and 62 of 65 extra points (95.4 percent) in the postseason en route to three Super Bowl titles.
Butker’s profile has risen this midterm season after his controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, in which he said most women who graduate are likely more excited about getting married and having children; alleged that some Catholic leaders are “pushing dangerous gender ideologies on America’s youth”; referred to a “deadly sin of pride that has a month-long celebration” in an oblique reference to Pride Month; and took aim at President Joe Biden’s policies, including his condemnation of the Supreme Court’s overturning of the 1973 Roe v Wade decision.
The three-time Super Bowl champion said he has no regrets about expressing his beliefs and that he has received both support and “a shocking amount of hate” from others following the comments.
Kansas City’s star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, widely recognized as the best player in the NFL, said he disagreed with Butker’s comments but defended the character of his teammates.
“There are certain things he said that I don’t necessarily agree with, but I understand who he is and he tries to do everything he can to lead people in the right direction,” Mahomes said in May.
After the defeat, Butker’s shirt became one of the best-selling shirts in the competition.
Now that they’ve retained their kicker, the Chiefs will focus on pursuing a historic third Super Bowl chase.