The Ravens and punter Sam Koch have reached a verbal agreement on a five-year contract extension, the team announced today (via Twitter). Prior to agreeing to new deal with the team, Koch had been set to become a free agent after the 2015 season.
According to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, Koch’s new five-year extension is worth $18.75MM, including a $4MM signing bonus, $7.3MM in guarantees, and $16.25MM in new money. That overall figure includes the 32-year-old’s $2.5MM base salary for 2015, so it looks like the deal will be worth $18.75MM over six total years, keeping the veteran punter under team control through the 2020 season.
Koch, a sixth-round pick out of Nebraska back in 2006, has been the Ravens’ regular punter since joining the team, with over 700 regular season attempts for the franchise. He set a career high in 2014 by averaging 47.4 yards per attempt, and his 42.9 net yards average tied for the NFL lead.
Under his old deal, Koch had been in line for a $3.1MM cap charge in 2015 — his $2.5MM base salary, along with a $600K portion of his prorated signing bonus. The new deal will add $800K in prorated bonus money, but I’d expect the team to reduce the punter’s base salary for the year, perhaps slightly lowering his cap hit.