The Cleveland Browns have locked down Dustin Hopkins and made him one of the league’s highest-paid kickers in the process.
Hopkins and the Browns agreed to a three-year, $15.9 million extension on Monday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The new deal, which will pay Hopkins about $5.3 million per season, makes him one of the five highest-paid kickers in the NFL.
Hopkins was set to enter the final year of a three-year, $9 million deal he first signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2022 this fall. Now, the Browns have him under contract through the 2027 campaign.
Hopkins, who the Buffalo Bills first selected in the 2013 NFL Draft before later cutting him, spent time with the Washington Commanders and Chargers before landing in Cleveland before the 2023 season. With the Browns, he made a franchise-record 33 of his 36 field goal attempts last season. He drilled a career-long 58-yarder, and he set an NFL record after going five straight games while making a 50-yard field goal or longer.
Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker and Philadelphia Eagles kicker Jake Elliott each currently make $6 million a season, which makes them the highest-paid kickers in the league. Only Indianapolis Colts kicker Matt Gay and New York Giants kicker Graham Gano still earn slightly more than Hopkins under his new deal.
The Browns went 11-6 last season and made the playoffs for just the second time in the last two decades. The team went 5-0 in games decided by a field goal last season, too. While Hopkins missed the last two regular season games and their playoff loss to the Houston Texans due to a hamstring injury, he is expected to be fully healthy for the start of the season this fall.