The Dolphins have agreed on an extension with Jason Sanders, making him the game’s highest-paid kicker. It’s not surprising. Entering his fourth year, he’s emerged as one of the best players at his position.
Per reports, it’s a five-year extension worth $22 million, with $10 million guaranteed.
The Dolphins could have waited on this deal; Sanders was already under contract through the 2021 season. But as well as Sanders played last year, Miami obviously felt it was better to extend him now, rather than to a more expensive deal a year from now.
Sanders was pretty special last year. He connected on 8 of 9 field goals from 50-plus, and he was the only full-time kicker in the league who made all of his extra points. Sanders kicked a 50-yard field goal with 3:30 left to help win the Arizona game, and he connected on a 44-yarder with 1 second left in a comeback win against Las Vegas.
Along with Younghoe Koo and Daniel Carlson, Sanders was one of only three kickers who scored 144 points last year. He missed only 3 total kicks, while Carlson missed 4 and Koo missed 5.
It’s early; we’ll see how things shake out in the offseason. But if we’re picking players today, Sanders probably would be one of the first five kickers I would draft for 2021.
| KICKERS, 2020 SEASON | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | FGs | 50+ | XPs | Pts |
| Younghoe Koo, Atl. | 37-39 | 8-8 | 33-36 | 144 |
| Jason Sanders, Mia. | 36-39 | 8-9 | 36-36 | 144 |
| Daniel Carlson, L.V. | 33-35 | 4-4 | 45-47 | 144 |
| Tyler Bass, Buff. | 28-34 | 4-6 | 57-59 | 141 |
| Rodrigo Blankenship, Ind. | 32-37 | 1-3 | 43-45 | 139 |
| Ryan Succop, T.B. | 28-31 | 1-2 | 52-57 | 136 |
| Greg Zuerlein, Dall. | 34-41 | 3-9 | 33-36 | 135 |
| Justin Tucker, Balt. | 26-29 | 3-5 | 52-53 | 130 |
| Cairo Santos, Chi. | 30-32 | 2-3 | 36-37 | 126 |
| Wil Lutz, N.O. | 23-28 | 1-3 | 57-58 | 126 |
| Harrison Butker, K.C. | 25-27 | 4-4 | 48-54 | 123 |
| Jason Myers, Sea. | 24-24 | 2-2 | 49-53 | 121 |
| Joey Slye, Car. | 29-36 | 1-6 | 33-36 | 120 |
| Ka'imi Fairbairn, Hou. | 27-31 | 4-6 | 37-40 | 118 |
| Graham Gano, NYG | 31-32 | 5-6 | 21-23 | 114 |
| Dustin Hopkins, Was. | 27-34 | 2-4 | 30-32 | 111 |
| Nick Folk, N.E. | 26-28 | 2-3 | 30-33 | 108 |
| Brandon McManus, Den. | 28-34 | 10-15 | 24-27 | 108 |
| Michael Badgley, LAC | 24-33 | 2-6 | 36-39 | 108 |
| Mason Crosby, G.B. | 16-16 | 4-4 | 59-63 | 107 |
| Matt Prater, Det. | 21-28 | 6-10 | 38-41 | 101 |
| Cody Parkey, Cle. | 19-22 | 0-0 | 43-47 | 100 |
| Stephen Gostkowski, Ten. | 18-26 | 7-8 | 46-48 | 100 |
| Robbie Gould, S.F. | 19-23 | 2-4 | 36-38 | 93 |
| Chris Boswell, Pitt. | 19-20 | 1-1 | 34-38 | 91 |
| Randy Bullock, Cin. | 21-26 | 3-5 | 24-25 | 87 |
| Zane Gonzalez, Ariz. | 16-22 | 2-3 | 38-39 | 86 |
| Dan Bailey, Min. | 15-22 | 2-5 | 37-43 | 82 |
| Jake Elliott, Phil. | 14-19 | 2-5 | 24-26 | 66 |
| Matt Gay, LAR | 14-16 | 1-1 | 16-16 | 58 |
| Sam Sloman, 2TM | 10-13 | 0-1 | 23-26 | 53 |
| Sam Ficken, NYJ | 13-15 | 1-3 | 12-15 | 51 |
| Aldrick Rosas, Jac. | 8-11 | 3-5 | 9-9 | 33 |
—Ian Allan