GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Mason Crosby knows a thing or two about having to earn his money.
In 2013, he agreed to take a $1.6 million pay cut after he made just 63.6 percent of his field goals the preview season. The Green Bay Packers gave Crosby the chance to earn back every dollar based on performance.
Sure enough, Crosby bounced back and made 33-of-37 field goals for a career-best (89.2 percent). Crosby met every incentive and collected his full $2.4 million salary in 2013.
He never looked back.
Since his career-worst season, Crosby has made 85.7 percent of his field goals. Although that ranks just 22nd in the NFL over the last three seasons, Crosby kicks in some of the worst conditions in the league, playing half of his games at Lambeau Field. This postseason, he set the playoff record for consecutive made field goals with 20.
The Packers did not want to get into a revolving-door situation at kicker, and Crosby wanted to continue his career in Green Bay. So it was no surprise the two sides agreed to a four-year, $16.1 million contract on Tuesday, a little more than a week before Crosby would have been a free agent.
It makes him the third-highest paid kicker in the league based on average per year ($4.025 million). He trails only Baltimore's Justin Tucker (who received the franchise tag of $4.572 million) and New England's Stephen Gostkowski ($4.186 million).
Does that mean Crosby is the third-best kicker in the league? Not necessarily. Average per year salaries are often out of whack because different players' contracts expire at different times. If there's one area where Crosby could improve, it's in the clutch. He badly missed a 52-yard field goal as time experienced in the Week 10 loss to the Detroit Lions.
Nevertheless, Crosby has proven before he can earn his money. History suggests he'll do it again.
