Even though Tom Brady has some new influence over, the Las Vegas Raiders still hold on to some of their old traditions and quirks.
The Raiders have agreed to a mᴀssive $15.8million contract extension for punter AJ Cole, per Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz.
This extension now makes him the best paid punter in the league – edging out the $14.6m deal the Seattle Seahawks gave to Michael Dickson.
Typically, punters are among the lowest paid routine starters in the NFL – with Dickson the only one making above $3.5m per year.
But now, Cole will be earning $3.95m a season for the next five years as a member of the Raiders organization.
Additionally, his deal has $11million guaranteed – believed to be the largest guaranteed salary of any punter in the history of the NFL.
The Las Vegas Raiders have made AJ Cole the best paid punter in the NFL with an extension
Cole will earn a guaranteed $11million over the course of his four-year deal with Las Vegas
Tom Brady is getting ready for his first full season of partial ownership of the Raiders
Cole was undrafted out of NC State in 2018 and played his first season with the Raiders in 2019. He’s been one of the top punters in the league ever since.
The Raiders have been an organization that has typically held a very high value on punters throughout its history.
Back when they were in Oakland, the Raiders became the first team to draft a punter in the first round when they selected future Hall-of-Famer Ray Guy.
Guy is the only punter in the Hall-of-Fame and was one of two punters chosen for the NFL’s 100th Anniversary team. The other person on that list was Shane Lechler, who also began his career with the Raiders.
The Raiders also gave out the largest salary to a punter in history when they inked Marquette King to a five-year, $16.5m deal in 2016 before cutting him in March 2018.
Cole’s contract comes at a time where the Raiders are set to undergo their first full season of Tom Brady being a part-owner.
It’s not entirely clear what Brady’s influence on the organization is – with the quarterback unable to convince management to draft Shedeur Sanders, whom Brady mentored.
