Raiders agree to four-year, $16 million contract with Janikowski

kmart6

NFL.COM wrote:

Sebastian Janikowski and the Oakland Raiders agreed on a four-year, $16 million contract that is the richest for a kicker in NFL history, the team said Tuesday.

Janikowski will be guaranteed $9 million in the deal, a person familiar with the contract said on condition of anonymity because the team didn't announce terms.

Janikowski was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent if the Raiders didn't sign him or place the transition or franchise tag on him by Feb. 25. However, the team was able to lock him up by giving him the same contract that All-Pro punter Shane Lechler received last year to stay out of free agency.

Janikowski is coming off the best season of his 10-year NFL career. He made 26 of 29 field-goal attempts, with his only misses coning from 45, 57 and 66 yards. He made six kicks of at least 50 yards, including a 61-yarder that was the fourth-longest in league history.

Janikowski also had 17 touchbacks on 58 kickoffs for the sixth-best mark in the NFL last season.

The Raiders used the 17th overall pick to draft Janikowski in 2000, making him the first specialist in 21 years to go in the first round. But Janikowski didn't emerge as the game-changing kicker that owner Al Davis hoped for at the time, missing 10 field goals as a rookie and connecting on just 76 percent of his kicks during his first three seasons.

However, Janikowski rebounded and has been very consistent the past two seasons, making 41 of 44 attempts inside 50 yards. He became the Raiders' all-time leading scorer in 2008, and he has 1,000 career points.



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The Raiders traditionally have done a good job keeping their own free agents. Last February, they gave record deals to Lechler and star cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and also awarded a big contract to defensive tackle Tommy Kelly in 2008.

The Raiders' focus now turns to defensive lineman Richard Seymour, who cost the team a 2011 first-round pick in a trade with the New England Patriots. He had four sacks, but two of them came during the season opener.

If the Raiders can't sign Seymour to a long-term deal by Feb. 25, the team is expected to use the franchise tag to keep him for next season. Seymour, a five-time Pro Bowl pick, then would be guaranteed $12.398 million.

Nice money for a kicker.....:cool:

Frisbee

Very happy with that news.

I know it's crazy money for a kicker but when you have players who are up there with the best in their position I like to see whatever needs being done to keep them.

kmart6

Ah he deserves it really, they have a nice little tandem with himself and Lechler going!

themont85

kmart6 wrote: »

Ah he deserves it really, they have a nice little tandem with himself and Lechler going!

He does too. Its sad for the Raiders that their two most consistant players are special team kickers!

darragh16

He's got some leg, trying 60 yard field goals the odd time and is fully deserving of the contract! But wouldn't have to fork out 16 mil on a kicker though if they had a half decent starting QB..

Frisbee

darragh16 wrote: »

But wouldn't have to fork out 16 mil on a kicker though if they had a half decent starting QB..

We've got a QB?

I thought we had a 'give-the-ball-to-the-other-team-and-lose-yardage-guy'...

kmart6

Ah no, shur he got benched again....

InKonspikuou2

The money being thrown around in US sports is ridiculous.

Frisbee

InKonspikuou2 wrote: »

The money being thrown around in US any sports is ridiculous.

FYP

There is currently a thread on the soccer forum about the top 50 earners in world football. And the majority of them wouldn't even be in the top 50 players in the world, the way sport is going it's only a matter of time before we start to see a major collapse right across the board.

Hazys

Frisbee wrote: »

FYP

There is currently a thread on the soccer forum about the top 50 earners in world football. And the majority of them wouldn't even be in the top 50 players in the world, the way sport is going it's only a matter of time before we start to see a major collapse right across the board.

I can see it happening in professional soccer but certainly not in the NFL. The NFL makes way too much money and is governed too well to fall at the moment. The only thing that challenges its security is a new CBA or the strike in 2011.

Frisbee

Hazys wrote: »

I can see it happening in professional soccer but certainly not in the NFL. The NFL makes way too much money and is governed too well to fall at the moment. The only thing that challenges its security is a new CBA or the strike in 2011.

I certainly think NFL will outlast Football by a long way.

I can see things coming to a head in European Football within the next decade.

The caps and running of NFL clubs is much better alright, they won't be hit as hard.

Black Swan

Hazys wrote: »

The NFL makes way too much money and is governed too well to fall at the moment. The only thing that challenges its security is a new CBA or the strike in 2011.

American football has replaced baseball as America's favourite number one past time sport in recent years. The stadium seating are huge for NFL, and several of the NCAA Div I stadiums approach or surpass 100,000 seating. Plus advertisers are making millions off the game, be it pro or college amateur with telly commercials.

InKonspikuou2

Frisbee wrote: »

FYP

There is currently a thread on the soccer forum about the top 50 earners in world football. And the majority of them wouldn't even be in the top 50 players in the world, the way sport is going it's only a matter of time before we start to see a major collapse right across the board.

Well yeah i agree it's with most sports. I only said US as Baseball, American football and Basketball occupy 43 positions in the top 50 sports contracts ever in the world. Keep in mind this is a contract with a team. Golfers, boxers etc would be measured differently.

Hazys

InKonspikuou2 wrote: »

Well yeah i agree it's with most sports. I only said US as Baseball, American football and Basketball occupy 43 positions in the top 50 sports contracts ever in the world. Keep in mind this is a contract with a team. Golfers, boxers etc would be measured differently.

Ya the average salary in football is $1m a season, $20,000 a week which is 12,000 GBP so id say there are a lot of Premiership footballers on way more than that. The NFL makes nearly triple in Revenue of what the Premiership does.

Not to mention you can generally cut a NFL player without too much compensation while with soccer players contracts like Winston Bogarde can have 50,000 GBP a week contracts that you cant cut when he is way past his prime, you have to pay full compensation.

TheHeadhunter

What does stadium seating, wage bills, soccer, American Footballs growing popularity vs Baseball have to do with Sebastian Janikowski's new contract with the Raiders, i thought we weren't supposed to "spoil" threads?

kmart6

If you follow the posts its very clear how it got around to it!

A kicker getting paid a large amount for what is considered a small position on the team shows how much money is in the sport!

TheHeadhunter

you were discussing soccer & baseball at one stage two totally different sports! wtf?

Frisbee

TheHeadhunter wrote: »

you were discussing soccer & baseball at one stage two totally different sports! wtf?

Using them as a comparison isn't thread spoiling.

It's putting the state of one sport in contrast against the other and showing the ludicrous amount of money there is in sport at the moment.

Which directly relates to a kicker getting such a huge contract.

kmart6

If you have such an issue with it report it!

tallaghtoutlaws

I have to say I agree with Headhunter this thread most definitely went off topic. It went from Janikowski wage to comparing wages in other sports. Frankly who gives a damn what other sports make. Only one person stayed on topic in the thread and that was the OP.

A kicker is not as meaningless as it once was, neither is a punter. Comparing them to other sports is pointless. The NFL has always been about giving the best of the best the most money and in recent years NFL teams have realised the difference a great punter and kicker make to your team. Just look at the season gone and how many kickers messed up. Even those who had solid regular seasons struggled in crunch times.

For me every position on the field is important and they all play their part and the sooner the better teams realise that the better. Fair play to the Raiders securing two vital pieces of the jigsaw puzzle.

Hazys

TheHeadhunter wrote: »

What does stadium seating, wage bills, soccer, American Footballs growing popularity vs Baseball have to do with Sebastian Janikowski's new contract with the Raiders, i thought we weren't supposed to "spoil" threads?

I think you are being a small bit pedantic, which lead to 5 or 6 posts (and this one) about thread spoiling which most certainly had nothing to do with Seabass' (the 2nd best Seabass in the NFL:pac:) new contract.

I dont think this thread had two many legs anyway, how much could we talk about a Kicker's contract? it got a little sidetracked so what? its not like the thread was ruined and that you couldnt revert back to the orginal topic but its certainly ruined now.

InKonspikuou2

There are 3 components of the post. The kicker, the contract and the team. So i don't see how discussing the money aspect is off topic as it relates directly to the value of the contract. It's hardly spoiling the OP thread when the OP says that people can complain if they don't like the way it has gone.

Black Swan

We have 3 refs, so coaches get off the field, and lets get back to the game!

Thread locked.