Brandon Aubrey has been delighting Dallas Cowboys fans for three years now. After bursting on the scene in 2023, he has become the most electrifying kicker in the NFL. Aubrey has ushered in a new era of specialists capable of scoring from almost and beyond the 50-yard line, making offenses more formidable than ever before.
Dallas proved how much Aubrey was worth to them when they placed a second-round tender on him this offseason. This was unheard of for a kicker, but we live in a brave new world. That tender made him the second-highest paid kicker in the league in terms of APY at the time - since then Ka'imi Fairbairn has reset the market at $6.5 million per year.
And while Dallas has offered Aubrey a long-term deal that would make him the highest-paid kicker in the NFL, there are levels to highest paid. And Aubrey is likely fighting to keep himself in a historical class while also helping jumpstart a kicker market that isn't moving like other positions.
The kicker market has largely stagnated in comparison to other positions. The salary cap has grown 126% since 2014. Over that same time period, the average of the top five kicker salaries has only grown 79%. That's 12th out of 15 positions. But between Fairbairn and especially Aubrey, kickers should get a solid lift this year.
Brandon Aubrey's value to the Dallas Cowboys is hard to quantify
Given his range, and accuracy at range, Aubrey has set the bar for the modern NFL kicker. Over the past three years he has 35 kicks of 50+ while hitting those at an 80% clip. Only one kicker since 2020 has signed a contract with 30 or more attempts of 50+ in the three years preceding their deal. That was Brandon McManus in 2023 and 2024.
Aubrey is simply doing things that no other kicker has done before.
The closest production comps I can find are Graham Gano leading up to his 2023 deal and Chase McLaughlin prior to his 2024 contract. Here is a comparison of the three players over three different time horizons.
Player | FG's Made | FG % | 50+ Made | 50+ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Brandon Aubrey (2023 - 2025) | 108 | 87.8% | 35 | 79.5% |
Graham Gano (2020 - 2022) | 89 | 91.8% | 20 | 80.0% |
Chase McLaughlin (2022 - 2024) | 74 | 84.1% | 20 | 83.3% |
Player | FG's Made | FG % | 50+ Made | 50+ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Brandon Aubrey (2024 - 2025) | 72 | 84.7% | 25 | 73.5% |
Graham Gano (2021 - 2022) | 44 | 81.5% | 7 | 63.6% |
Chase McLaughlin (2023 - 2024) | 59 | 88.1% | 16 | 80.0% |
Player | FG's Made | FG % | 50+ Made | 50+ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Brandon Aubrey (2025) | 36 | 85.7% | 11 | 64.7% |
Graham Gano (2022) | 30 | 79.2% | 3 | 60.0% |
Chase McLaughlin (2024) | 30 | 83.3% | 9 | 75.0% |
Aubrey outperforms Gano in 10 out of 12 areas and McLaughlin in eight out of 12. And this doesn't account for the extra-long attempts that simply fall in the 50+ category. This clearly shows he should be paid more than both of these comps.
Gano's $5.5 million APY in 2023 adjusts to $7.37 million this year. If Aubrey asked for that deal it would make him the highest paid kicker in the league by over $800k.
Brandon Aubrey should aim higher
While that would be a fantastic achievement for Aubrey, he shouldn't settle for Gano's cap-adjusted APY. There is an elite tier of kicker contracts that he has every right to shoot for. Since the 2011 CBA three players have signed deals with an APY of 3.0% of the salary cap or more. Those are Phil Dawson (2012), Sebastian Janikowski (2013) and Stephen Gostkowski (2015).
As good as Aubrey has proven to be he certainly warrants inclusion into this tier. 3.0% of this year's $301.2 million salary cap would be just over $9 million per year. And this is where I think his team should be aiming to close a deal.
Starting negotiations at $9.75M APY to make him truly the highest paid cap-adjusted kicker in the modern era, while Dallas likely counters at the $7.5M mark, that may be a tall task. But if they can hold the line at $9M, it will not only be good for Aubrey, but it will help current and future kickers across the NFL.