Stephen Gostkowski: Patriots kicker finally earns much-deserved contract extension

It’s never easy replacing a legend—but New England Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski has done a decent job so far. Four years later, his hard work has paid off. According to ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss, the Patriots awarded Gostkowski with a four-year extension on Wednesday that will make him one of the highest paid kickers in the league after this season. The deal will pay the former fourth-round pick an average of $3.5 million per season with $5 million guaranteed. When Adam Vinatieri—arguably one of the most clutch kickers in NFL history—left the Patriots for the Indianapolis Colts following the 2005 season, the Patriots selected Gostkowski during the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He won the starting job over Martín Gramática during training camp and has been nothing but phenomenal for New England ever since. Gostkowski has connected on 103 of his first 121 during his first four seasons with the Patriots to give him a kicking percentage of 85.1 percent—the highest in te...