The Dallas Cowboys have made NFL history. The team has made Brandon Aubrey the highest-paid kicker.
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According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the Cowboys have rewarded Aubrey with a four-year, $28 million extension that includes $20 million guaranteed. This is the largest-ever contract awarded to an NFL kicker, and it shows the impact that Aubrey has made on the team.
The former Notre Dame kicker has spent three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, and he has earned three trips to the Pro Bowl.
He earned All-Pro honors as a rookie after leading the NFL with 36 successful field goals. He converted on 94.7% of his attempts and on 94.2% of his extra point attempts.
The bigger statistic for Aubrey is his number of long-range kicks. He has made six field goals of 60-plus yards, which is an NFL record. He has successfully converted on 24 of his 27 attempted kicks over 50 yards.
The Cowboys also confirmed the news with a press release issued on Monday afternoon.
Aubrey had revealed at the Pro Bowl in February that the team had started contract talks. He noted that he deferred the conversations to his agent so that he could focus on the games. He also said at the time that he didn't have a set timeline for putting pen to paper.
According to the Cowboys, Aubrey's only focus was earning a second contract with the team so that he could remain the kicker.
"Everyone wants to hit that second contract because you don't have much say in your first and you can really earn a second contract," Aubrey said. "Whatever you've shown your worth on the field is what the market will pay you.
"That's not really the case with the first contract, everyone kind of gets the same thing as an undrafted guy, and to be honest, that's what I was worth in the market when I signed. So I think we've improved on that value."
