Patriots sign punter Jake Bailey to contract extension
BOSTON -- Jake Bailey will continue to kick footballs in Foxboro for the foreseeable future, and he'll be making a pretty penny to do so.
The team signed the punter to a four-year contract extension worth a total of $13.5 million and with $6.5 million in guaranteed money, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Patriots’ punter Jake Bailey reached agreement on a four-year, $13.5 million contract that includes $6.5 million fully guaranteed and runs through 2025 season, per source. The new deal makes Bailey one of the league’s three highest-paid punters.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 1, 2022
The 25-year-old Bailey is entering his fourth NFL season, which was the final year on his rookie deal after the Patriots traded up to draft him out of Stanford in the fifth round of the 2019 draft. Bailey replaced Ryan Allen, who had been the Patriots' punter for the previous six seasons, winning three Super Bowls in New England.
In his second season in 2020, Bailey earned First Team All-Pro as well as Pro Bowl honors. Bailey's 2021 punting season wasn't quite as impressive, but the new extension shows that Bill Belichick still feels as confident as ever in his young punter. Bailey also handles kickoff duties for New England, thus adding to his value.