The Denver Broncos and franchised kicker Matt Prater are closing in on a five-year contract extension , Mike Klis reported in Thursday's edition of The Denver Post.
Prater has yet to sign his franchise tender, worth $2.654 million in base salary for the 2012 season, and has skipped the team's organized team activities. The five-year extension could be reached in time for next week's minicamp, according to Klis, and is expected to be worth more than $3 million per season.
Prater is one of five kickers to receive the franchise tag this offseason. Mike Nugent of the Cincinnati Bengals and Phil Dawson of the Cleveland Browns have signed their one-year tenders, while Prater and the Jacksonville Jaguars' Josh Scobee have not.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Connor Barth signed a four-year, $13.2 million extension last month. Barth's contract included $4 million in guarantees and involved nearly a $1.8 million raise, placing him among the top five highest-paid kickers in the NFL.
Since joining the Broncos in 2007, the 27-year-old Prater is 90 of 112 (80.1 percent) on field goal attempts, including 12 of 16 (75 percent) on attempts from beyond 50 yards. Prater went 19 of 25 on field goals in 2011, with seven field goals in either the fourth quarter or overtime in four of the Broncos' eight wins.
