Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Oakland Raiders' Sebastian Janikowski Highest Paid Kicker in History



Adam Schefter is reporting that the Oakland Raiders have rewarded Sebastian Janikowski for an outstanding season with the largest contract ever received by a kicker in NFL history.

Schefter is reporting the deal to be worth $16 over four years with $9 in guaranteed money. That's more than some quarterbacks in the NFL. The position that is supposed to be the most important.

We've all come to notice over the course of this season the huge role kickers played as the season grew. More and more kickers were missing clutch kicks that lost the game for their teams. Janikowski was arguably the best kicker in 2009.

But was he $4 million per year good?

In my opinion, no kicker is worth $4 million a year, not even the guy who hit 89.7% of his 29 field goal attempts in 2009, and hit a 61-yarder against the Cleveland Browns as the first half expired this season. That kick was good enough for fourth on the NFL's all-time list.

Janikowski was superb in 2003 and 2004 where he hit 88% and 89.3% respectively, but has since been in a funk. A four year funk before recovering in 2009.

In 2005 he was an abysmal 66.7%. He followed that up with 72% in 2006, 71.9% in 2007, and 80% in 2008. Those numbers do not scream $16 million to me, and Al Davis continues to show that his mind cannot be on building a winning team.

Well, maybe it is in his mind, but the way he has been going about it will never work. Brace yourselves Raider Nation.

The Raiders have now almost $10 million locked up on their kicker and punter next season. I can hear Nnamdi Asomugha screaming to be saved right now.



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