Facing a Tuesday deadline to sign a new deal or place the franchise tag on kicker Graham Gano, the Carolina Panthers bit the bullet.
The team announced that it has signed Gano to a four-year contract.
.@GrahamGano has signed a four-year deal https://t.co/DDjIDoazCT
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) March 6, 2018
The deal is reportedly worth $17 million over four seasons with $9 million guaranteed.
The #Panthers and K Graham Gano agreed to terms on a 4-year deal worth $17M with $9M guaranteed, per @MikeGarafolo and me.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 6, 2018
That makes Gano the second-highest paid kicker in the NFL behind only Stephen Gostkowski of the New England Patriots.
Gano, 30, is coming off the first Pro Bowl appearance of his career. He connected on an NFL-best 97 percent of his 30 field goal attempts this past season.