Kansas City Chiefs make Harrison Butker NFL's highest-paid kicker

The Kansas City Chiefs and Harrison Butker have agreed to a contract extension that will make him the highest-paid kicker in the NFL, according to multiple reports.

Butker had one year left on his current deal. The new contract is reportedly for $25.6 million over four years, including $17.75 million guaranteed. Butker is now signed with the Chiefs through 2028.

Butker, a seventh-round draft pick of the Carolina Panthers, has kicked for Kansas City since 2017. He has converted 89.1% of his 197 career field-goal attempts in the regular season. And he has been even more accurate in the playoffs, hitting 91.4% of his kicks, helping the Chiefs win three Super Bowls since 2019.

It has been an eventful year for Butker.In February, he kicked three field goals in Kansas City’s 25-22 win in the Super Bowl.

In May, giving the commencement speech at Benedictine College, a Catholic liberal arts school in Atchison, Kansas, he made remarks that were widely criticized for being antisemitic, misogynist and anti-LGBTQ.

Butker defended his comments by saying he has chosen to speak out more often about his Catholic faith. "It’s a decision I’ve consciously made and one I do not regret at all," he said.

A few of Butker’s teammates distanced themselves from his comments, as did the NFL.

“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, told People in a statement. “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”

And now Butker, 29, is entering his eighth NFL season as the best-paid player at his position.

The Chiefs will open their regular season Sept. 5 against the Baltimore Ravens on NBC.