Sebastian Janikowski Now NFL's Richest Kicker

Sports News - February 16th, 2010 - Written By John Ritter

When you're a kicker on a team that ranks dead last in almost every offensive category, there's a pretty good chance you'll wind up the best scoring option. Thus, becoming the best offensive player on the team.

For Sebastian Janikowski, that means dollar signs.

The 31-year old veteran, one of the rare kickers selected in the first round of any NFL Draft, was rewarded for his enduring reliability on the field on Tuesday by becoming the league's richest kicker ever. He and the Oakland Raiders agreed on a four-year, $16-million contract with a guarantee of $9 million.

The team avoided having to slap a transition tag on him which would only be a short-term solution, and allowed it to keep it's most-reliable offensive weapon from the past several years.

While the dollar amount appears excessive for a kicker, there is really no better investment for Oakland than the one they call "Seabass".

No kicker scored a higher percentage of his team's offense last season than Janikowski, who accounted for 95 of Oakland's 197 points. Only the Rams scored fewer points than the Raiders, and Josh Brown had 73 of St. Louis' 175 points.

While owner Al Davis has thrown money at first-rounders like Robert Gallery, JaMarcus Russell and Darius Hayward-Bey with only disappointment being the return on investment, Janikowski has been a bargain.

The former Polish soccer star has scored over 1,000 points in 10 seasons, and has a field-goal conversion rate of 78.4-percent. He was in the top-two of the league in touchbacks in 2007 and 2008, and was ninth in '09. He scored 95 points last season, the team-leader by 71, and had a league-high six kicks of over 50 yards. He was a perfect 17-of-17 on extra points.

Janikowski has curiously never been to the Pro Bowl, however, NFL Betting Lines list Oakland with a 100/1 longshot to win the Super Bowl in 2011, according to Bodog, which is tied for worst odds along with four other teams.