The Panthers were reportedly set to use the franchise tag on kicker Graham Gano if they couldn’t get a long-term deal done by Tuesday afternoon’s deadline, but that won’t be necessary.
The team announced on Tuesday that they have reached agreement on a four-year deal that will keep him under contract through the 2021 season. If Gano sees out the deal, he’ll have spent a decade kicking for the Panthers.
His chances of making it all the way to the end of the contract will look pretty good as long as he keeps kicking the way he did last year. Gano was 29-of-30 on field goals, 34-of-37 on extra points and effective on kickoffs as the Panthers advanced to the playoffs.
Gano would have been in line for a $4.94 million salary if he received the tag, but no financial terms of this deal were announced by the team. Gano’s deal likely wound up in a similar neighborhood to the ones Ryan Succop, who got five years at $20 million from the Titans, and Matt Bryant, three years at $10.5 million with the Falcons, signed recently.
UPDATE 2:07 p.m. ET: Per multiple reports, the deal is worth $17 million with $9 million guaranteed.