Harrison Butker is staying in Kansas City.
The kicker has signed a new four-year, $25.6m deal with the Chiefs that will tie him to the franchise through 2028, according to multiple reports. Butker negotiated the deal himself without a lawyer or agent, according to ESPN.
The deal makes Butker the highest-paid kicker in the NFL, eclipsing the mark set by Baltimore’s Justin Tucker in 2022.
Butker, who made the game-winning field goal in Kansas City’s Super Bowl victory two years ago, confirmed the deal on X, saying: “There’s no place I’d rather be than with the Chiefs, excited to finalize a 4 year extension. To the Heights!”
Butker has been a lights out performer for the Chiefs, converting 89.1% of his field goals (197 for 221) in seven seasons with the franchise and making 70% percent (28 for 40) of his efforts from beyond 50 yards. He’s been an essential part of the team’s deep playoff runs, making 32 of 36 field goals (88.9%) and 62 of 65 extra points (95.4%) in the postseason on the way to three Super Bowl titles.
Butker’s profile has risen this offseason after his controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where he said most women receiving degrees were probably more excited about getting married and having kids; argued some Catholic leaders were “pushing dangerous gender ideologies on to the youth of America;” referred to a “deadly sin sort of pride that has a month dedicated to it” in an oblique reference to Pride month; and took aim at President Joe Biden’s policies, including his condemnation of the supreme court’s reversal of the 1973 Roe v Wade decision.
The three-time Super Bowl champion said that he has no regrets about expressing his beliefs and that he has received support as well as “a shocking level of hate” from others after the comments.
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City’s star quarterback, who is widely acknowledged as the best player in the NFL, said he disagreed with Butker’s comments but defended his teammates character.
“There’s certain things that he said that I don’t necessarily agree with, but I understand the person that he is and he is trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction,” Mahomes said in May.
In the fallout, Butker’s jersey became one of the highest-selling jerseys in the league.
Having tied down their kicker, the Chiefs will now turn their attention to pursuing a historic Super Bowl three-peat.
