Five days prior to Sunday’s AFC Championship match, the Cincinnati Bengals’ kicker filed a trademark for the phrase “Money Mac.” He quickly proved his confidence when he made a 31-yard field goal overtime to defeat Kansas City Chiefs. This was his first Super Bowl in 33-years.
It wasn’t just Gay who had a moment of heroism. Matt Gay, Los Angeles Rams, drilled a 30-yard field goal with 1:46 remaining in regulation. It was the difference in their NFC Championship win over the San Francisco 49ers. This was the latest in a series of cliffhangers this year in the NFL playoffs.
It is obvious how heavily teams depend on kicking, it’s almost a surefire way of scoring. According to Pro Football Reference, NFL teams attempted 85% of their field goals this season. Gay had a 94% success rate. The playoffs have shown the importance of kickers to their teams with five of six games winning by margins of 3.
Lisa Delpy Neirotti is the director of George Washington University’s sports management program.
However, the role of kicker is still a pivotal one. This is unlikely to change. The league has a limited number of kickers per game and focuses financial attention on those with greater impact. Yesterday’s four quarterbacks earned $71 million, while kickers only made $6 million.
Spotrac reports that Daniel Carlson, the Las Vegas Raiders’ kicker, earned $6.7 million this season, which was largely due to a $4,000,000 signing bonus. McPherson, a rookie, earned just over $1million, while Gay received $850,000. Comparatively, the NFL’s top five earners this season earned at least $29million, with Dak Prescott , the Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback, earning $75 million. He also received a huge signing bonus.
Brands aren’t more generous with kickers than teams when it comes to marketing. Multimillion-dollar marketing opportunities can be accessed by league stars who are mostly quarterbacks. Delpy Neirotti says kickers can only do a fraction of this. He estimates that these players are getting low five-figure deals from regional or local partners.
There are exceptions. There are exceptions. According to Delpy Neirotti, Tucker is still a well-known kicker, but he doesn’t make seven figures. He holds the league record at 66 yards for longest field goal.
It’s not all bad news. As Tucker and 17 other kickers have shown, they can earn a living from their playing salaries. As increasing media contracts push up league revenues, this number will only increase.
However, the NFL’s TV ratings mean that roster spots come with a lot of earning potential. Each of the 32 league teams has 53 roster spots. Most have only one kicker, and often two or three quarterbacks. Eugene Lee, an agent with Vanguard Sports Group calls his “pragmatic” approach to kickers.
He says, “There are a few jobs and it’s high-pressure.” “You can’t have bad games consecutively.”
