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Commanders land veteran kicker on historic contract

Originally posted on NFL on ClutchPoints
By Jaren Kawada | Last updated Apr 29, 2025 12:37 PM ET

Less than one month after being released by the Indianapolis Colts, Matt Gay already has a new home. Days after the 2025 NFL Draft, the veteran kicker signed with the Washington Commanders in free agency.

Gay agreed to a fully guaranteed one-year, $4.25 million deal with the Commanders, per NFL insider Tom Pelissero. The deal is the highest fully guaranteed salary for a kicker in NFL history. He also has additional contract incentives that can net him up to $5 million.

For Gay, the contract is his second record-breaking deal. He signed a four-year, $22.5 million deal with the Colts in 2022, which at the time was the biggest deal given to a kicker in NFL history. But after two inconsistent seasons with the team, Indianapolis released him and will proceed with Spencer Shrader as its kicker in 2025.

The Commanders used four different kickers in 2024 but mostly relied on the leg of Austin Seibert, who hit 90 percent of his field goals and 22 of his 24 extra point attempts. In just nine games, the career journeyman ended the year 13th in the league with 27 made field goals. But with Washington signing Gay, Seibert remains on the open market, where he has spent most of his career.

Commanders hope Matt Gay will end kicker woes

Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Gay’s signing makes him the 10th kicker to join the Commanders’ roster in the last five years. While the position is not known for consistency, Washington has particularly struggled in that department for a while.

After Dustin Hopkins’ up-and-down seven-year run with the team ended in 2021, Washington has gone through a carousel of kickers. A frequent visitor of the kicker free agency market, the Commanders signed Nick Rose, Chris Blewitt, Brian Johnson, Cade York, Joey Slye, Greg Joseph and Zane Gonzalez in addition to Seibert.

While Slye lasted a few years with the team, his efficiency dropped each season. The Commanders cut ties at the end of the 2023 season, turning the job over to Gonzalez and, eventually, Seibert. The latter’s 2024 campaign was the franchise’s best season from a kicker in a decade, but Washington nonetheless hopes Gay can end the ongoing charade.

This article first appeared on NFL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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