Raiders will show Janikowski the money
Sebastian Janikowski has a great leg and even better timing.
In 2009, he put together his best season as a pro. Now, a month away from his 32nd birthday, the Polish place kicker is looking to land one of the priciest deals ever given to a kicker from the Oakland Raiders.
The team that drafted him with a first round choice back in 2000 will look to compensate Janikowski for his steady kicking for the last few seasons.
Reportedly, talks have already begun and the Raiders want to ensure he never hits the free-agent waters.
Back in 2004, Oakland inked him to a five-year extension that paid him $10.5 million and included $2.8 million in guaranteed money. At the time, Janikowski was the highest paid kicker in league history.
This past season, he past the 1,000 career point mark, becoming the all-time Raiders leading scorer while also obliterating his own team record for the longest field goal with a 61-yard conversion at Cleveland.
Oakland could use their franchise tag on him if they cannot come to an agreement.
If the year is uncapped, the Silver & Black will have more options with more tags to their disposal. Then, they could easily keep unrestricted free agent Richard Seymour and Janikowski by tagging both.
The Raiders last year had no issues keeping Shane Lechler and Nnamdi Asomugha. So I can’t foresee any hang-ups between the organization and Janikowski as they work out a deal to keep him in Oakland for the remainder of his career.
If a deal can be struck prior to the start of the free-agency period, it could free the team up to focus on Seymour, a player they cannot afford to lose and that may need to be tagged if a deal cannot be struck.
