SEAHAWKS EXTEND KICKER JASON MYERS
The Seattle Seahawks have extended Pro Bowl kicker Jason Myers, the team confirmed late Wednesday night.
As per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the new four-year deal is worth an incredible $21.1 million and could be worth up to $22.6 million with incentives. Myers’ contract was set to expire in March and the 31-year-old kicker was preparing to enter 2023 as an unrestricted free agent.
The new deal rewards Myers’ Pro Bowl 2022 campaign and makes him the second-highest-paid kicker in the NFL. Only Baltimore Ravens’ kicker Justin Tucker, who signed an extension last August, earns more than Myers on annual average pay.
Myers signed on Wednesday in the presence of his young family and said while holding his 3-month-old daughter Hailey, “We wanted to stay here the whole time. We had no plans of leaving and we love this organization, the coaching staff, players, everything. I’m so excited to be able to stay for four more years at least, hopefully more.
“The group we had, this team is so much fun. Week to week, it’s really fun to be in that locker room.”
The former New York Jet earned his second career Pro Bowl selection and his first as a Seahawk this season, in what has been an impressive year for not only the Seattle Seahawks but also for Myers as well. A Marist College alumni, Myers led the NFL in scoring this year with 143 points, his last three points coming on a game-winning field goal in Week 18 that helped send the Seahawks to the playoffs.
For the season, Myers completed 34 of 37 field goal attempts (91.89%) and 41 of 42 extra points (97.62%). He was also 6 for 6 on field goal attempts of 50 or more yards and tied Stephen Hauschka for the most 50-plus field goals in a season in franchise history. Myers added an impressive long field goal in the postseason, a 56-yarder that gave the Seahawks a 17-16 halftime lead against the 49ers during Super Wild Card Weekend.
Seahawks General Manager John Schneider said in a statement: “It’s just the first step in our offseason. We identified Jason, especially having the year he had, as somebody we wanted to get done as quickly as we possibly could. He’s a huge piece of our championship culture, and he was eager, as we were, to consummate a deal. It’s a first step for us for 2023.”
“He had another great season,” Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll said earlier this week in response to a question about Myers’ pending free agency. “He had a terrific year. He wants to be here. We want him to be here. So we have to figure it out somehow.”
In 66 games across four seasons in Seattle, Myers has made 87.5 percent of his field goal attempts and converted 93.5 percent of his extra point attempts. An important piece to their championship aspirations, Myers will now look to build and get better with the Seattle Seahawks, who now shift their focus to signing quarterback Geno Smith. Smith is set to become a free agent this offseason and should get rewarded by the team after a stellar season.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
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