The Kansas City Chiefs signed Harrison Butker to a four-year, $25.6 million extension, making him the highest-paid kicker in the NFL.
Butker has played a vital role for the Chiefs and his clutch contributions to Kansas City’s recent string of enormous success cannot be overstated.
Butker made headlines earlier this offseason when he gave a commencement speech at Benedictine College, a private Catholic institution in Kansas.
No matter if you agree with his messaging or not, the fact of the matter is you won’t find a single person who has a bad word to say about Butker’s character or integrity.
Several of Butker’s teammates – including Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Chris Jones – quickly came to his defense when some people took offense to his commencement speech comments.
The Hunt family as well as head coach Andy Reid also stuck up for Butker and vouched for the type of man he is.
It’s clear just how highly the entire organization thinks of Butker, both on and off the field, which is why it came as no surprise that they offered him the lucrative extension.
Needless to say, former ESPN personality Trey Wingo faced heavy criticism for a post he made on social media in reference to Butker’s extension.
“The Harrison Butker extension… making him the highest paid kicker….underscores the inherent truth of the NFL: the better you are at the job the more a team is willing to put up with pure and simple,” Wingo posted on X.
Taking names out of it, we all know the point Wingo was trying to make … If you’re a great football player, an NFL team will find a way to get you on their roster. You will have more lives than a cat.
Having said that, the majority of fans found it very strange that Wingo would use his messaging in reference to Butker’s religious beliefs rather than other NFL players who have actually broken the law yet remain in the league.
Tim Grunhard, a former Pro Bowl offensive lineman who played his entire 11-season career with the Chiefs, criticized Wingo’s comments.
“Trey … that’s a sh*tty take! You may not agree with everything he says and believes in but the last I looked Harrison didn’t violating the league’s personal conduct and substance abuse policies… probably why you got axed from ESPN … but you got some attention again there’s that!” Grunhard posted on X.
On the field, Butker’s performance has been exceptional.
During the 2023 regular season, he made 33 of his 35 field goal attempts and converted all 11 tries in the postseason, including a critical 57-yarder in Kansas City’s Super Bowl victory over San Francisco.
Notably, Butker has not missed an extra point since December 18, 2022.
What are your thoughts on Wingo’s comments???