New England Patriots Reportedly Make 2020 All-Pro Jake Bailey One Of NFL’s Highest-Paid Punters

The right leg of Jake Bailey will remain in the New England Patriots’ plans through 2025.

The organization has signed the 25-year-old punter to a four-year, $13.5 million contract extension that includes $6.5 million guaranteed, as reported Monday by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The agreement puts Bailey behind only the Washington Commanders’ Tress Way and the Seattle Seahawks’ Michael Dickson in terms of average annual value at the position.

Arriving in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL draft at No. 163 overall, Bailey has since appeared in all 49 games for New England. The Stanford product stands with a career average of 46.7 yards per attempt through 185 punts in the regular season.

Of which, 90 have been downed inside the opposing 20-yard line. An additional 17 have bounced into the end zone for touchbacks.

A long of 71 yards has been hit in consecutive campaigns by Bailey. The former two-time second-team All-Pac-12 selection earned Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors in 2020. He did so while averaging 48.7 yards per punt and an NFL-best net average of 45.6 per punt.

New England’s special teams saw a league-high three punts blocked in 2021. Bailey’s opportunities, however, resulted in 47.3 yards per and a net of 42 yards per. Those averages placed eighth and 21st, respectively, around the league.

Bailey, who carried a base salary of $850,000 last season, was scheduled to enter the final year of his rookie contract with a $3.986 million base salary as a result of the proven-performance escalator. His upcoming cap hit stood at $4.058 million, per OvertheCap.com, which ranked behind second among the game’s punters.

But New England now stands with close to $5 million in total 2022 cap room due to the extension, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.

It marks the second extension since the start of training camp Patriots, following defensive tackle Davon Godchaux’s two-year, $20.8 million pact. It marks continuity among the team’s specialists, as well, with veteran kicker Nick Folk staying on a two-year, $5 million deal in free agency and long snapper Joe Cardona starting the final year of a four-year, $4.31 million extension.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Bailey has also handled kickoff and holding duties during his tenure.

“Nick does a really good job of adjusting his technique to the situation and the specific conditions of that kick, whatever it happens to be,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said of the three-man operation last week. “The wind, the rush, the operation and so forth. We’re fortunate we’ve been able to have Jake and Joe as a good unit here for an extended period of time. That’s always good.”

Bailey began camp on the non-football illness list. He resumed practicing behind Gillette Stadium last Friday alongside rookie punter Jake Julien, an undrafted free agent out of Eastern Michigan.

New England opens the preseason with a 7 p.m. ET kickoff at MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants on Aug. 11.