Tucker signs extension with Ravens; highest-paid kicker
Justin Tucker signed a four-year extension with the Baltimore Ravens, the team announced Monday, and a source leaked that it is worth $24 million and keeps Tucker as the NFL’s highest-paid kicker.
Justin Tucker, the most accurate kicker in NFL history, will earn an average of $6 million per season, the source said, which is $1 million more per season than any other kicker. Tucker’s new contract comes a week after Chris Boswell signed an extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers and matched Tucker as the league’s highest-paid kicker at $5 million per season.
Justin Tucker, who had two years remaining on his current contract, now signed through 2027 and will receive signing and option bonuses totaling $11.5 million, according to the source. The extension also includes $17.5 million guaranteed, $5 million more than any other kicker.
After Monday’s practice, Tucker said being the league’s highest-paid kicker wasn’t at the top of his priority list, but “it certainly sounds good.”
“This deal certainly checks all the boxes for me,” Tucker agreed. “And for all intents and purposes, this is the kind of deal that will more than guarantee that I’ll be a Raven for life. And for that alone, I couldn’t be happier.”
Justin Tucker acknowledged that the deal came together quickly. At a recent practice, he joked with coach John Harbaugh that a deal could be closed in five minutes.
“And indeed, it took about five minutes,” Tucker joked. “There’s a saying in business that [with] a good deal, maybe neither side gets exactly what they want and neither side is happy, so it’s a good deal. But in this case, I think everyone is very excited.”
Tucker, 32, has become one of the NFL’s all-time leading kickers in his 10 seasons. Undrafted out of Texas, Justin currently holds the best field goal percentage in NFL history (91%), as well as the league record for longest field goal (66 yards).
He has been named first-team All-Pro five times, twice more than any other kicker. Since entering the league in 2012, he ranks first in the NFL in field goals made (326) and points (1,360).
In other news, on Monday, starting running back J.K. Dobbins came off the physically unable to work list, practicing for the first time since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Aug. 28, 2021. He was limited to individual drills. When Baltimore did team drills, Dobbins worked on the side.
“I think he looked pretty good in individual [drills],” Harbaugh said. “Maybe we’ll add a little more each day and see how he handles it and how the knee responds. It looks like, so far, so good.”
