[News] Late For Work 7/16: Stephen Gostkowski Deal Sets Market For Justin Tucker

[sami]

17 million for 4 yrs might seem like a lot but how much do you think Ozzie would have paid if he knew then what he knows now and could have had Tucker in the Playoff game against the Patriots instead of Cundiff.

[hen826957]

I think Ozzie will get Tucker a little less than Gostkowski in my opinion maybe 4.5 million a year something like that but I wouldn't mind Tucker having a little bit more than Gostkowski because he deserved it and a way better kicker. I hope Ozzie make his genius way to keep his salary cap figure low that's all we have to worried about.

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

Now there i a measuring stick for topkickers. I expect to see Oz get deal done with Tucker in about the same pricerange the Pats gave Gotkwski.

[Ravenseconbeast]

wow....that is ALOT of money for a kicker...

we are going to crunch a lot of numbers to figure out who to keep and who to let go...:::SIGH:::

[Halshayeji]

I don't believe doom will hold out. Especially when he triggered a million dollar yearly increase after his 14th sack last year or something like that. I really don't think Doom is that greedy.

But if he does, I'd call his bluff. Pay him nothing and decline every trade coming his way until he mans up and respects his end of the contract. Ozzie went out of his way to bring him in. Harbs goes out of his way every game by starting a guy who's not an every down guy. We all know the kind of defenders harbs loves and doom doesn't fit that description.

Don't get me wrong. I loved his signing and love what he brings to the team. I hope he stays here for a few more years. But if he holds out and disrespects us like that then it's on!

[cbrook1862]

Tucker is the best kicker in the league, pay the man.

[n#7]

Get'er done with the Tuckman. He's one of the best and will only get better as he matures.No more Cundiff's.

[ravenpic]

17 million for 4 yrs might seem like a lot but how much do you think Ozzie would have paid if he knew then what he knows now and could have had Tucker in the Playoff game against the Patriots instead of Cundiff.

I remember 2011 too Sami.....Cundiff got hurt and we picked up K Shayne Graham. We should have finished the season with Shayne Graham. Graham is a much more accurate kicker than Cundiff right to this day. But the Ravens believed Billy when he said he was ready to go. End of story.

We all want to keep Tucker in Baltimore. Tucker should be paid top dollar. The Ravens can afford him. 

[jdynamite]

Man when did kickers pay other than Janakowski ( raiders crazy organization ) get this high. My gosh it's like Madden. Over 4M a year for a kicker. That contract something close to what Cary Williams was offered a few years ago.

[ravenpic]

We all want to keep Tucker in Baltimore. No doubt he could win a game with a kick from 65 yards away. Tucker should be paid top dollar. The Ravens can afford him and need him. 

[jdynamite]

tuckers leg is superior to gostkowski. we have put much more weight on his shoulders than the patriots have done to gostkowski, and he has responded to the biggest, most nerveracking, and impossible moments with great results, and this is all at such a young age while gostkowski has been around the block for quite some time now.

tucker > gostkowski and he deserves to get paid like it too. id be ok with giving tucker 5mil per year for the next 5 seasons, he is part of this teams identity, we are known for being a dangerous squad in crunch time, and that is because joe flacco can get it to the 40 yard line more often than not, and tucker can bang the 57 yard buzzer beater with his eyes closed. he is a weapon and letting him walk would be a huge mistake by the ravens

I can't agree with 5M per you're willing to pay. I mean if Tucker ( I've always had great appreciation for both Kickers & Punters Matt Stover is still one of my favorite Ravens. ) but if Tucker were making 5M/yr. I don't see how we'd be able to pay others like Yanda, Osemele contracts in balance with respect to that. Even a guy like Upshaw might have a hard time accepting his next contract if the kicker were making 5M per.

I was hoping tucker could get a deal similar to Koch but maybe more guaranteed money.

[JoeyFlex5]

I can't agree with 5M per you're willing to pay. I mean if Tucker ( I've always had great appreciation for both Kickers & Punters Matt Stover is still one of my favorite Ravens. ) but if Tucker were making 5M/yr. I don't see how we'd be able to pay others like Yanda, Osemele contracts in balance with respect to that. Even a guy like Upshaw might have a hard time accepting his next contract if the kicker were making 5M per.

I was hoping tucker could get a deal similar to Koch but maybe more guaranteed money.

were currently 8m under the cap with essentially all of our current contracts locked down and ready to go, the only concern is how are we gonna pay one of yanda or KO and that likely wont come until next offseason, all of this extra space and we are STILL dealing with ray rices 9.5mil in dead money which will be off the books next offseason, also ngata has a few million in dead money lingering on our books i believe as well. 

 

our contract situation is so much better than the rumor mill would suggest when you consider all the factors, we could give tucker 4-5mil a year and still be able to re-sign upshaw and one of our guards next offseason when the double digits of dead money goes away

[TXRavensFan]

were currently 8m under the cap with essentially all of our current contracts locked down and ready to go, the only concern is how are we gonna pay one of yanda or KO and that likely wont come until next offseason, all of this extra space and we are STILL dealing with ray rices 9.5mil in dead money which will be off the books next offseason, also ngata has a few million in dead money lingering on our books i believe as well. 

 

our contract situation is so much better than the rumor mill would suggest when you consider all the factors, we could give tucker 4-5mil a year and still be able to re-sign upshaw and one of our guards next offseason when the double digits of dead money goes away

 

I think the issue he was bringing up wasn't about affording contracts for other players, rather it was about getting players to accept a deal that may be lower than Tucker's. I hadn't really thought about it, but it is an interesting thought.

 

For example, we just signed a veteran nickel/slot cornerback in Kyle Arrington for about $3M per year. Most would agree that in the current pass-happy NFL that a nickel corner is essentially a starter, so the question would be, if Tucker was making $5M as a kicker, how likely would Arrington, a virtual starter on defense, accept a deal that was $2M less than the kicker's?

 

I'm pretty sure that each position has its own market, but you can't help but wonder if such large contracts for kickers/punters might have an effect on the lower end of the market for other positions that see more significant playing time.

Edited July 17, 2015 by TXRavensFan

[JoeyFlex5]

I think the issue he was bringing up wasn't about affording contracts for other players, rather it was about getting players to accept a deal that may be lower than Tucker's. I hadn't really thought about it, but it is an interesting thought.

 

For example, we just signed a veteran nickel/slot cornerback in Kyle Arrington for about $3M per year. Most would agree that in the current pass-happy NFL that a nickel corner is essentially a starter, so the question would be, if Tucker was making $5M as a kicker, how likely would Arrington, a virtual starter on defense, accept a deal that was $2M less than the kicker's?

 

I'm pretty sure that each position has its own market, but you can't help but wonder if such large contracts for kickers/punters might have an effect on the lower end of the market for other positions that see more significant playing time.

hahhh I see, yea that's an interesting way to look at it

[#20=DA MAN!!]

I think the issue he was bringing up wasn't about affording contracts for other players, rather it was about getting players to accept a deal that may be lower than Tucker's. I hadn't really thought about it, but it is an interesting thought.

 

For example, we just signed a veteran nickel/slot cornerback in Kyle Arrington for about $3M per year. Most would agree that in the current pass-happy NFL that a nickel corner is essentially a starter, so the question would be, if Tucker was making $5M as a kicker, how likely would Arrington, a virtual starter on defense, accept a deal that was $2M less than the kicker's?

 

I'm pretty sure that each position has its own market, but you can't help but wonder if such large contracts for kickers/punters might have an effect on the lower end of the market for other positions that see more significant playing time.

 

 

Market value is one thing, but team value is another. which is why we never really pay market value for a player unless that player is valuable to us, ie flacco, suggs, rice, reed, ngata, yanda. Now correct me if im wrong, but at the time the aforementioned players signed their big deals (not their 3rd deals but the big deals after the rookie deals) were they not the highest paid players at their position, and were a vital member of our past 7 years of success?? I believe Tucker fits right in there with them. You never appreciate a kicker until he misses a game winner, or clutch kick. We have already experienced that heartbreak so lets avoid it by paying the best player at his position. And to the argument about arrington making 2mil less than tuck if we gave tuck 5 mil...i say this...tell arrington to go get 5mil a year somewhere else?? he couldnt because a player his age and talents, being that no one ever makes MORE money after getting CUT. Now dont get me wrong, our 3rd CB is just as important to our team as a kicker, but are we saying that arrington is the BEST nickle corner?? no...is Tucker the BEST kicker...yes...so in closing, arrington is paid based on his position and his value at the position, and in turn tuck should be paid as such. #RantOver #55Days 

[b93333]

No question... Tucker as been outstanding... that said Ozzie has to see where that money is best spent. If it cost us Yanda for example... might be better to look for another less costly option as kicker.

[rockhill24]

Last guy said look for another kicker, a great kicker like Tucker is GOLD in the NFL, part time arm chairs fantasy players will be the ruin of football as I have known it since 1955. Justin , Ozzie will give you big bucks soom. This team is posied to be one of the best.

[RavenManiac#7]

Stop fooling around with Justin Tucker. He's the best, so pay the man. Why risk any hard feelings by tagging him next year? Everybody, including Ozzie knows we won't let him walk. And everybody, also, knows that tagging a guy doesn't exactly endear the player to his team, so why even think of having to resort to that. If Justin wants to be the highest paid kicker, who could blame him? His stats pretty much seal his argument that he IS the best in the league. Unless he is going to hold out for some absolutely ridiculous amount of money, there is No reason to have to resort to tagging him. I really think he just wants to be the highest paid kicker. He just doesn't seem to be the kind of guy to be crazy with his demands. I trylu believe that Ozzie Will make him the highest paid kicker. It's just a matter of when. He has to be able to fit into the cap as easily as possible. Nobody wants the tag, but that Will happen if there's no new contract. He's not going to be allowed to go anywhere. I believe that strongly. Just pay the man, the sooner the better, Ozzie.

[RavenManiac#7]

To the people that are saying that kickers might not be deserving of that kind of money, the kind Gostkowski got. I don't know if they are remembering the days of Billy Can'tkick. Kickers are incredibly important members of their teams. So many times the outcome of the game is on their foot. It's true that every player, at each position, gets you where you are near each game's ending point. But, it's the kicker who then trots out on that field and decides whether you win or lose that game. And just think how our team has such a tendency to win, or lose, games by three points or less. It's, actually quite often, especially with the Squealers. We've had a couple blowouts with them, with each of us winning one and losing one. But, an awful lot of them are three pointers or less. I really think we'd be absolutely Crazy to let the best, most clutch kicker in the game get away from us. There isn't any other kicker I can think of that I'd rather have lining up for that game winning kick than Tuck. I hate remembering the days when we had to punt after reaching an opponent's 35 yard line. But, we did because Billy Can'tkick was not capable of being depended on to kick a 52 yard field goal. Heck, a drive to their 30 yard line had him kicking from the 47, and that was a crap shoot in itself. Remember how short the one he missed that would have put us into overtime after Lee Evans failed to hold onto the probably game winning catch? I just can't buy into the argument that the best kicker in the league doesn't hold a huge amount of value to a team. His foot decides a Very high number of games. Pay the man!

[slowboater]

No question... Tucker as been outstanding... that said Ozzie has to see where that money is best spent. If it cost us Yanda for example... might be better to look for another less costly option as kicker.

Both Yanda and Tuck deals will gett done.

[jdynamite]

I think the issue he was bringing up wasn't about affording contracts for other players, rather it was about getting players to accept a deal that may be lower than Tucker's. I hadn't really thought about it, but it is an interesting thought.

 

For example, we just signed a veteran nickel/slot cornerback in Kyle Arrington for about $3M per year. Most would agree that in the current pass-happy NFL that a nickel corner is essentially a starter, so the question would be, if Tucker was making $5M as a kicker, how likely would Arrington, a virtual starter on defense, accept a deal that was $2M less than the kicker's?

 

I'm pretty sure that each position has its own market, but you can't help but wonder if such large contracts for kickers/punters might have an effect on the lower end of the market for other positions that see more significant playing time.

 

hahhh I see, yea that's an interesting way to look at it

 

Sorry haven't been on in a few weeks, but TXRavensFan was correct in describing my previous comment. It wasn't a matter of simply affording contracts under the salary cap, but rather the possible ramifications.  More cause and effect, example being although they play totally different positions and salaries are often set by positions, there is no reason why a good agent wouldn't get his client to look at current Raven's contracts then say, " okay so you, Upshaw so the Ravens are paying their Kicker  avg 5m/per, but the offer on the table for you is 4yr at 18M ( avg 4.5M ) now at that point Upshaw ( Upshaw and his agent are going to start talking about the number of snaps he plays and how important his role is to the team.. )   Or even in the case of a guy like Yanda ( last contract was 5yr 32M ) of course he wants more than that based on his last pay day and the position value going on over time, but in respect to his contract compared to a kicker making 5M, he might want to get what he feels is his value ( he is a top player at his position within the league and a locker room leader ).

 

 

 

PS. TXRavensFan I'm not sure why you had negs for your comment, had to be a lack of understanding, you said nothing wrong.