Contract details for Kansas City Chiefs K Harrison Butker tell the full story of his four-year extension
The Kansas City Chiefs officially signed K Harrison Butker to a four-year $25.6 million extension this past week. Now that the contract details are out we've got a better picture of what this deal truly is. Keep in mind that Butker represented himself in this deal with no agent involved in negotiations whatsoever. According to the folks […]
The Kansas City Chiefs officially signed K Harrison Butker to a four-year $25.6 million extension this past week. Now that the contract details are out we've got a better picture of what this deal truly is. Keep in mind that Butker represented himself in this deal with no agent involved in negotiations whatsoever.
According to the folks at OverTheCap, Butker will have $17.75 million of his $22.245 million contract fully guaranteed. $13.8 million of that guarantee is considered new money.
In his extension years (2025-2028), Butker will have base salaries of $3.735 million, $5.805 million, $5.747 million, and $5.747 million respectively. He'll have workout bonuses of 100K each year.
The extension drops Butker's 2024 salary cap hit to $3.388 million which is a $1.435 million decrease compared to what it was before the extension. Freeing up salary cap space is certainly a bonus when you consider that the team is also looking to extend starting C Creed Humphrey and starting RG Trey Smith.
Butker will carry cap hits of $5.235 million (2025), $7.305 million (2026), $7.247 million (2027), and $7.247 million (2028). The last two years on his deal are the time when the Chiefs could consider cutting Butker to save salary cap space. There's only $2.8 million in dead money in 2027 and $1.4 million in 2028, compared to savings of $4.447 million and $5.847 million respectively. They could also simply look to extend his contract during those years, should he continue to kick at an elite level.
The bottom line on Harrison Butker's four-year extension
It's a little easier to stomach paying a record-setting contract extension to a kicker when you look at their per-year averages and total contract value compared to other positions. Kickers simply just don't make enough to dissuade a team from paying out a top-of-market salary to a player who deserves it.
Butker will make $6.4 million APY whereas other kickers are making $4-5 million. It's not a tangible difference to where it'll stop the team from signing another player at another position. When you consider just how valuable and reliable Butker has been during his career, that $1 million difference is negligible.
This deal is presented as a four-year extension, but the reality is that the final two years of the deal should be considered team options. They can cut ties with Butker with minimal dead money if his play falls off by his age-32 season (2027). They can also extend his contract or just stand pat as the NFL's salary cap continues to balloon.
The icing on the cake here is that this contract extension frees $1.435 million in salary cap space for the Chiefs. It leaves Kansas City with $16.8 million in salary cap space available. That could be used for other extensions, trades, or signing a free agent ahead of the start of the year. It could also be rolled over into the 2025 NFL season if it remains unused.
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