The Oakland Raiders announced that punter Marquette King has agreed to a long-term contract extension with the team. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported King’s extension is a five-year, $16.5 million deal. Coming off his third full season as the team’s regular punter, King has shown that there’s more to his game than just a strong leg.
Punter Marquette King signs 5-year extension from Raiders
Oakland has locked up their punter with a long-term deal.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
While he tied for ninth in net yards per punt and put an impressive 40 punts inside the 20, the second-highest total in the NFL, King also was one of the top directional punters this season. His four touchbacks were tied for eighth-fewest and just 36.1 percent of his punts were returned, the fourth-lowest rate in the league.
Thanks to King’s outstanding skills, the Raiders boasted one of the NFL’s top punting units. Football Outsiders estimated that Oakland’s punting added 14.0 points of field position last season, the third-best mark in the league. His leg is a weapon that proved to be a valuable asset for the Raiders in 2015.
King has established himself as an elite punter and will be paid accordingly. Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt currently has the highest average salary among punters at $3.75 million while Thomas Morstead's six-year, $21.885 million extension is the benchmark in terms of total value. King's deal places him near the top of the league in terms of compensation at the punter position.
King was wearing a sweatshirt and a Raiders cap when he signed his extension, so we can only assume his Superman costume was underneath, like Clark Kent.
See More:
