In a shocking turn of events, the Indianapolis Colts find themselves in the midst of a kicker crisis as Matt Gay missed his third consecutive field goal attempt, this time during a crucial matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 56-yard miss, eerily mirroring his previous two missteps, has left Colts fans lamenting the bold decision to make Gay the highest-paid kicker in NFL history.
The saga began in Week 14 when Gay missed two field goals in a disappointing loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. However, the gravity of the situation escalated in Week 15 as he failed to convert a 56-yard attempt against the Steelers. Per James Boyd of The Athletic, this was the “Third straight missed kick for Colts K Matt Gay dating back to last week. All three were too far left. Granted, this was a 56-yard attempt, but still. I wrote about Gay earlier this week. ‘It’s just not something that affects me going forward, Gay said [when asked about the misses ahead of Week 15].” Clearly, it continues to affect him.
The Colts made headlines during the legal tampering period by signing Gay to a four-year deal worth $22.5 million, making him the highest-paid kicker in NFL history. Despite the historic nature of the contract, it was initially believed that the financial impact on the Colts’ salary cap would be minimal.
Matt Gay’s deal includes a signing bonus of $8 million, with a base salary of $1.08 million guaranteed in 2023 and $3.92 million guaranteed in 2024. However, the kicker’s performance, or lack thereof, has now become a major point of concern for the Colts and their fan base.
Colts fans took to social media to express their disbelief and frustration:
@MOBBIN44 couldn’t fathom the financial decision, exclaiming, “HOW THE **** IS MATT GAY THE HIGHEST PAID KICKER IN THE NFL????????” The sentiment was shared by @BigGuyDraven, who bluntly stated, “we paid him 23 million to[o] much.”
@SconnieColt expressed a more direct concern about Gay’s performance, asking, “What is wrong with Matt Gay?” Meanwhile, @jjakemartinn offered a glimmer of hope, suggesting, “He’s gonna do this a couple games then he won’t miss a field goal for the next 2 seasons for the amount we paid him or money got to his head and we made a huge mistake.”
As the Colts grapple with the fallout from Gay’s struggles, the scrutiny on the highest-paid kicker in NFL history intensifies. The hope for Colts fans is that this is merely a temporary setback, and that the investment in Matt Gay will eventually pay off. However, as the missed field goals accumulate, the pressure on the Colts organization to justify their historic financial commitment to their kicker continues to mount.
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