Veteran running backs are having it rough these days. And the muscle-bound ball carriers are getting dirt kicked in their faces by the 98-pound weaklings.
The contract signed Monday by Broncos kicker Matt Prater proves once again that first-tier kickers are getting paid as much or more than second-tier running backs.
Per a source with knowledge of the contract, Prater received a four-year, $13 million deal, with $4.25 million fully guaranteed. He also can make an extra $350,000 in 2013, 2014, and 2015 if he makes the All-Pro team in 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively.
And so the game’s highest-paid kickers now fall between $3 million and $4 million in annual average. And the game’s B-level tailbacks like Michael Bush ($3.5 million per year), BenJarvus Green-Ellis ($3 million), Peyton Hillis ($2.6 million), and Mike Tolbert ($2.5 million) aren’t holding up well in comparison.
So the message once again, kids, is to quit carrying the ball in your arms and to start kicking it.