Caveat Emptor: LA Rams wise not to outbid Colts for Matt Gay

Comparative shopping for NFL kickers

The Rams roster may have had five different kickers on the roster at one time or another this season, but the team has only had two kickers play this season. The Rams started kicker Brett Maher for the first seven games of the 2023 NFL season. When he was no longer entrusted to kick field goals for the team, the Rams signed kicker Lucas Havrisik. Havrisik has kicked for the Rams for the last six games.

Much to the chagrin of Rams fans, the early performance of Gay for the Colts seemingly was a solid fit. But have you checked on the Colts kicker recently? The latest game played by the Indianapolis Colts (8-6) hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7) was not a great outing for their kicker. Matt Gay was only good for three of five field goal attempts. While the Colts won that game handily over the Steelers by a score of 30 to 13, you have to wonder if Gay can still deliver a buzzer-beater?

To aid you in discerning a true comparison of Matt Gay to the two Rams kickers so far this season, we have a data table for you to review. Did the Rams really lose out by not paying Gay more than his current four-year $22.5 million contract? You be the judge:

By examining the table above, you might conclude that Gay is still the more consistent kicker, and you would be correct to think so. But now let's talk about the team's return on investment, shall we?

Gay's contract guaranteed $13 million, and included an upfront signing bonus of $8 million. That is a lot of cheddar for a kicker. In stark contrast, the LA Rams paid out just $420,000 for Brett Maher. The LA Rams current kicker, Lucas Havrisik, is due to be paid just $458,337 for this year. That is about 1/10th of earnings that Matt Gay is being paid by the Colts.