The Buffalo Bills have themselves a new kicker in 2017 after moving on from Dan Carpenter. Stephen Hauschka’s deal will put him in the top ten for kickers in annual salary at a shade under $3 million per season.
According to ESPN, Hauschka signed a three-year, $8.85 million contract with $3 million coming in the form of a signing bonus. He has $1 million of his $1.6 million 2017 salary guaranteed, as well. His base salaries tick up to $1.75 and $2 million in subsequent years in addition to $250,000 roster bonuses. He can also earn $50,000 in incentives for having good field goal percentages (we don’t know the exact number). Those incentives are included in the numbers below.
2017
Salary: $1.6 million
Cap hit: $2.6 million
2018
Salary $1.75 million
Roster bonus: $250,000
Incentive: $50,000
Cap hit: $3.05 million
2019
Salary $2 million
Roster bonus: $250,000
Incentive $50,000
Cap hit: $3.3 million
Buffalo restructured Carpenter’s salary a year ago before releasing him this offseason. In 2014, he signed a contract for four years and $9.9 million. That contract still had him as the 13th-highest paid kicker in the NFL at just under $2.5 million per season. His kicking leg didn’t match his contract, though. (Just in case you were wondering, former Bills sixth-round pick Dustin Hopkins contract averages $600,000 in Washington.)