Report: Patriots, Stephen Gostkowski Hit Sang In Contract Talks

Stephen Gostkowski has been making headlines for quite some time.

Mike Giardi of the NFL Network reported that there isn’t much happening between the team and Gostkowski in terms of reaching an agreement.

“A source says not much happening between #Patriots and kicker Steven Gostkowski. Money is an issue (shocking) though ‘there’s still plenty of time,’” he tweeted.

Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston said both sides are getting closer to a deal earlier this month. Well, things don’t go as expected.

Gostkowski was the highest paid player among all NFL kickers last year. According to Spotrac, he will get $3.8 million annually. The total package he may sign will be around $7.75.

Gostkowski was never an unrestricted free agent. He comes off a four-year contract worth $17.2 million. The Patriots drafted him in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Memphis, and head coach Bill Belichick is happy with his action.

“Steve has been tremendously consistent,” he said. “He works hard. He trains well. He is in good shape. He has a strong leg. He is very poised and disciplined. He doesn’t get rattled. He doesn’t get that high on the big kicks and doesn’t get that low if something goes wrong. He is really steady and consistent. I’ve been so fortunate here to have two great, great kickers. I have never really worried about that position, thankfully.”

In one of his interviews, Belichick gave his opinion of Gostkowski’s play.

“Steve’s been great to work with. I think he showed an incredible amount of maturity and poise his rookie year. He came into probably as difficult a situation as any player that I’ve ever – rookie player – that I’ve brought on to a team with the expectations that were with him and, obviously, with what Adam [Vinatieri] had done before he was here.

“Steve’s been really consistent through all of these years. [He’s] a very hard worker, has earned the respect of his teammates, he does everything that the team does in terms of training and conditioning and so forth. He’s not on a special kicker program or anything like that. [He’s] very accountable, dependable, physically and mentally tough player.”