Why Jack Fox Could Become Highest-Paid Punter in NFL

Read more on why Detroit Lions punter Jack Fox could potentially be on the verge of becoming the highest-paid punter in the NFL.

One of the few bright spots the past two seasons for the Detroit Lions has been the play of punter Jack Fox.

The 25-year-old entered the 2022 offseason as an exclusive rights free agent, meaning the Lions controlled Fox's rights once they tendered him a minimum-level contract offer earlier this spring. 

Exclusive rights contracts are one-year deals worth the minimum salary, based on the number of years accrued by the player. Once an ERFA player is tendered an offer, he then can decide to sign that tender or sit out the subsequent season. All the while, such players do not have the ability to negotiate with other NFL franchises.  

Fox officially signed his ERFA tender earlier this week, and is set to make $895,000 this upcoming season.

Fox, an undrafted free-agent acquisition of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019, was signed to the Lions' practice squad that same season. 

The Rice University product did not play right away in the Motor City. But, since 2020, he has been an elite special teams performer for Detroit.

Junfu Han, USA TODAY NETWORK

In 2020, Fox's first NFL season, he finished second in the entire league in net punting, with an average of 44.8 net yards per punt. He also averaged 49.1 yards per punt, the third-best average in the NFL for that season. Those two marks were also good for Lions franchise records.

Additionally, he earned a trip to the Pro Bowl, as the result of his standout rookie campaign.

Then, a season ago, he had himself another productive season, averaging 49.2 yards per punt and a net average of 42.3. 

Overall wise, it wasn't as dominant of a season, but Fox still produced high marks and was easily one of Detroit's most consistently productive performers. 

Along with his punting prowess, the former high school quarterback even completed two passes in 2021, both of which came on fake punt attempts drawn up by Lions head coach Dan Campbell and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp.

Fipp labeled Fox as "a coach's dream" during the '21 campaign.

"It just puts a lot of stress on the defensive side of the ball, on that play," Fipp told reporters. "I was kind of digging to see if he had done any (passing in his life), and he said he was a high school quarterback. I’m like, 'Geez, and you haven’t thrown anything yet? Did anybody have you or ask you?' And, he said, yeah, he’d done a little bit of it in the past."

Fox, a surefire special teams weapon for Detroit, is on the verge of becoming the best punter in the NFL. And, if he's able to produce another season resemblant to his first two, he'll easily slide right into the conversation for the game's best punter.

It's why he's undoubtedly a bargain for the Lions. 

For comparison's sake, the highest-paid punter in the league today is the New England Patriots' Jake Bailey. He is set to make $3.86 million during the 2022 campaign.

While we're still comparing, Bailey only averaged 39.6 net yards on his punts in 2021. 

With another fine season from his right leg, there's no doubt in my mind that Fox will be able to demand a salary of equal proportion. 

Buckle up, Lions. It's getting closer and closer to the time when you're going to have to pony up and make Fox the highest-paid punter in the NFL.