Ravens' Justin Tucker wants long-term deal or agent says kicker will go elsewhere
Friday at 4 p.m. EST is the deadline for teams and players designated as franchise players for 2016 to agree to long-term deals. While sentiment is growing that the Denver Broncos and reigning Super Bowl MVP Von Miller will finalize a deal in time (after a few months of acrimony), another player has grown increasingly frustrated.
Rob Roche, the agent for Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday that if Tucker doesn’t get a long-term deal from the team on Friday, he won’t return to the negotiating table with the Ravens after the season and will look to play elsewhere.
“Justin’s disillusioned with the process right now and the Ravens’ position with him on his contract,” Roche told Schefter. “If we don’t get a long-term deal done by Friday, Justin will not entertain offers from [the] Ravens after the season.”
Only one problem: Baltimore could franchise Tucker again in 2017, and there’s not much he could do about it.
The tag amount for kickers this year is $4.5 million, and if Tucker and the Ravens don’t come to a long-term agreement, he’ll be playing for that this season (Tucker could also sit out until Week 10 in protest, receive a prorated salary and gain another accrued season).
If he was serious about a split if he doesn’t get a deal beyond 2016 from Baltimore, Tucker would have to convince the team to agree not to franchise him again next year, allowing him to hit the open market. Since that would seem unlikely, the Ravens could franchise Tucker again in 2017, this time at 120 percent of his 2016 salary, or about $5.4 million.
At this time last year, New England Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski signed a four year, $17.2 million extension with $10.1 million guaranteed. Tucker, six years younger than Gostkowski, is likely looking for at least that much.
Undrafted out of Texas in 2012 and signed just a couple of months after Billy Cundiff missed a relatively easy, game-tying 32-yard field goal in the AFC Championship against the Patriots, Tucker was named a Pro Bowler and All-Pro in 2013. He made 33-of-40 field goal tries last year, a career-low 82.5 percent conversion rate, though six of his seven misses were from 50 yards or longer.
