Prater closing in on contract extension

by Ryan Ebert

Denver Broncos kicker Matt Prater is close to a five-year contract extension with the team!

He hasn't signed his franchise tender worth $2.654 million, and has been skipping out the team's OTAs. The extension could be finished before minicamp start next week, and could be worth over $3 million per season.

Five kickers received the franchise tag this season including: Mike Nugent (Bengals), Phil Dawson (Browns), Josh Scobee (Jaguars), and Connor Barth (Buccaneers). Barth signed his tender, and Scobee signed a four-year contract extension worth $13.2 million.  Four million in guarantees was also included in Barth's contract which places him among the current top-five highest paid kickers in the NFL, and has about $1.8 million increase in his 2012 compensation.

Matt Prater is 90-112 (80.1 percent) on field goal attempts since joining Denver in 2007. The 27-year-old Prater is also 12-16 (75 percent) from field goals from beyond 50 yards.  Prater was 19-25 on field goal attempts, and seven of those field goals came in the fourth quarter or overtime in four of the Bronco's eight wins.