Browns Reach Three-Year Extension With Kicker Dustin Hopkins

Hopkins posted the second highest scoring season in Browns history in 2023

Dec 10, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns place kicker Dustin Hopkins (7) celebrates after kicking a field goal during the fourth quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Browns fans may be waiting patiently for news of a contract extension for top wide receiver Amari Cooper. In the meantime, Cleveland is working to secure some other players as part of their future plans.

According to multiple reports, the Browns inked a three-year extension with kicker Dustin Hopkins that will keep him with the franchise through 2027. Terms of the deal, as first reported by Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, are $15.9 million in total cash, with an average annual value of $5.3 million. $8.3 million is guaranteed to Hopkins.

It's worth $15.9 million and a yearly average of $5.3 million, making him the 5th highest paid kicker in the #NFL. Guaranteed: $8.362 million, source tells me https://t.co/jugdXo4Eot

— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) July 15, 2024

The deal comes after the 33-year-old produced the second-highest scoring season in Browns history. His 123 total points scored fell just short of Browns legend Jim Brown, who posted a 126-point season in 1965. Hopkins likely would have broken Brown's record had he not injured his hamstring in Week 15 which forced him to miss the rest of the year.

Before the extension, Hopkins was entering the final year of his current deal with the team since being traded to Cleveland last August. The nine-year veteran went on to produce one of the best season of his career in 2023. Hopkins made 33 of his 36 field goal attempts, going eight-for-eight from 50-plus yards – the most makes from that field goal in a single season for his career.

Hopkins also made a career high 58-yard field goal during his first year with Cleveland. In a season that saw Cleveland win 11 games and clinch a wild card berth for the second time in four seasons, Hopkins knocked home five game-winning field goals, including three in the final minute of regulation.