Friday, July 29, 2011

...Michael Koenen

In my hometown of Tampa, Florida $19 million dollars can buy you a lot. You can literally buy 4 or more homes on the beach and buy a high end car for each driveway. It is not the cheapest place to live, but it is one of the nicest bang for your buck cities in Florida, with an unusually high crime rate. In Tampa, Florida you can also buy Michael Koenen. Who is Michael Koenen? A punter, a punter who just received the biggest deal ever given to a punter in the NFL. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave him a 6 year $19.5 million dollar contract. Among punters with 50 or more punts last year, Koenen ranked 30th in the league with an average of 40.7 yards. His net average was 35.6 yards, 28th in the league. At dropping punts inside the 20-yard line, doing that 29 times last year, tied for eighth in the league. He put 23 balls in the end zone for touchbacks on the kickoff last year, good for third in the league, but with kickoffs moving up to the 35-yard line this year, a larger percentage of kickers will be able sail the ball into the end zone. Though Shane Lechler signed a deal with the Raiders in 2009 worth more per year ($16 million over four) and had more guarantees, this is still impressive. This is going to cost them in the long run if they fail to deliver. They have a good young quarterback and a chance, but this is still an odd move. However I am going to give Michael Koenen a Digit Up for making out like a bandit with this deal. By the way the Bandits used to be a football team in Tampa Bay during the United States Football League days... HA!

No comments:

Post a Comment