Harrison Butker Details Representing Self for Contract, Impact on Kicker Market

Now tied to Kansas City for several more years, Butker opened up about the negotiation process and its impact on the rest of the NFL's kickers.

Jul 22, 2024; St. Joseph, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker (7) walks down the hill from the locker room to the fields prior to training camp at Missouri Western State University. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Since winning Super Bowl LVIII, the Kansas City Chiefs have taken care of their own. From quarterback Patrick Mahomes to head coach Andy Reid and all the way up to general manager Brett Veach and Co., the back-to-back champs have locked up their core pieces or adjusted their current contracts.

Kicker Harrison Butker is the latest member of the group to get his due. Earlier this week, he agreed to terms with Kansas City on a multi-year extension that makes him the NFL's highest-paid player at his position.

The deal, which took between eight and 10 weeks to negotiate according to Butker, saw him represent himself throughout the process instead of rolling with an agent. He says his time with the NFLPA and his industrial engineering background at Georgia Tech came in handy this summer. The 29-year-old believes it was an "empowering" process that will hopefully remind players that they are their own best advocates.

"It was a lot of fun," Butker said. "My personality, I'm an introvert, so I don't really like the attention. Even being an NFL kicker, it's kind of an odd thing for me. I don't like the loud noises [and] the attention that comes my way but when I'm in the moment and I'm executing the kick, I'm so grateful for that opportunity. I kind of treated this contract the same way. It would've been easy for me to have an agent handle the contract but I kind of attacked this fear and I wanted to go out and have faith in myself to represent myself and do something that not a lot of players do."

Butker also spoke about the importance of continuing to push the NFL kicker market ahead.

"You never know, six months from now there's going to be another kicker that tops it," Butker said. "But I think it's good to know that the kicker market is still moving forward. I think offense is definitely the strength of the NFL right now. There are a lot of points being scored, and kickers are a part of that. Games are closer than ever. (Justin) Tucker signed his contract two years ago and then Jake Elliott just signed and tied his, so I'm grateful to be able to move it up a little bit. Like you said, I know there are going to be a bunch of kickers after me that are going to continue to push it."

Under his new deal, Butker is valued at $25.6 million over four years. His $6.4M average annual value tops Tucker and Elliott, also comfortably ahead of others like Matt Gay and Graham Gano. The pact contains $17.75M in practical guarantees, setting him up for a sizable payday over the next several seasons.

It's deserved, too. Following a down 2022 campaign made more difficult by an injury, Butker returned to form last season. Making 33 of his 35 field goal attempts during the regular season (including all five from 50-plus yards), his 94.3% hit rate marked the highest single-season number of his career. He also converted on every extra point attempt for the first time since he was a rookie in 2017.

During the playoffs, Butker went 11-for-11 on field goals, which was the third-highest total for a single postseason run ever. Having recently turned 29, he's in the thick of his prime and shed some of the uncertainty that crept in for many two years ago. The former seventh-round pick is back at his best, corresponding with a significant raise as the Chiefs look to extend their dynasty.

With pen put to paper and the season approaching, Butker is grateful for getting to this point and everything working out in the end.

"I mean, I'm sure I'll look back and it'll be cool to think about that at one point, I was the highest-paid kicker," Butker said. "So much of my career, I've just kept my head down and taken it day-by-day, kick-by-kick. I'm not the highest-paid kicker on my own, right? I'm so blessed to have a special teams coach like Dave Toub, to have James Winchester throughout my whole career, to start with Dustin Colquitt who taught me so much as a rookie, to have Tommy Townsend and, now, Matt Araiza is coming in. I've had a great support staff with the Chiefs, great fans. I've enjoyed kicking in Arrowhead Stadium, and I'm thankful for Coach Reid and for the pressure he puts on me in practice so I can execute and be successful in a game."

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