Steven Hauschka signs 3-year, $9.15 million deal
Seattle Seahawks kicker Steven Hauschka (4) makes a field goal against the Denver Broncos during the first quarter in Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
The Seattle Seahawks quality offseason continued today, as they unsurprisingly agreed to a deal to lock up star kicker Steven Hauschka, who is coming off of an incredible 2013 season. This is as big of a re-signing as you can have at the kicker position, because Hauschka is clearly one of the best kickers in the business. There aren’t many special teamers in this league with his reliability, and he has deadly accuracy from all ranges. It was once said that he had difficulty nailing longer kicks, but he really improved on his leg this past season by nailing all three attempts from at least 50 yards and also had 48 touchbacks, 12 more than last season (he has consistently gotten better on kick-offs)
Per a source close to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Hauschka will get $9.15 million, including $3.35 million in guaranteed money, over the next three seasons.
It’s fair value for a kicker of his quality, and he’s also making a similar amount of money to Nick Folk and Graham Gano, who both received new deals this offseason. I would argue that Hauschka is the better kicker, so it’s a nice deal for both sides at the end of the day. I mean, you’ll almost always have to take less money in order to play for a team as great as the Seahawks, and Hauschka is in a perfect situation with some quality cash set to flow into his pockets.