FRIDAY, 7:47am: Bryant’s new deal is a three-year contract, with a total value of $8.5MM, according to Vaughn McClure and Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter links). It will count for about $2.483MM against 2015’s cap.
WEDNESDAY, 4:32pm: Veteran kicker Matt Bryant had been eligible for unrestricted free agency in less than two weeks, but the Falcons have ensured that he doesn’t reach the open market. The club announced today in a press release that Bryant has inked a contract extension that will keep him in Atlanta.
Bryant, who has been with the Falcons since the 2009 season, has been very consistent during his time in Atlanta. He made 29 of 32 field goal attempts in 2014, with his only three misses coming from 50+ yards out. In 2013, two of his three misses were from 50+ yards.
While financial terms of Bryant’s new extension aren’t yet known, he is coming off a four-year deal that paid him $2.675MM per year. That annual salary put him just outside of the NFL’s top 10 kickers, and given how good he has been since signing it, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him bumped up to the $3MM per year range. Of course, the Baylor product will turn 40 in May, so this deal almost certainly won’t be another four-year pact.
With Bryant off the market, Stephen Gostkowski and Matt Prater are the notable kickers without contracts yet for 2015. Jay Feely, Mike Nugent, and Ryan Succop are also eligible to become UFAs in March.