Another Former Walk On Poke Hits Big In NFL Free Agency

Dan Bailey signs contract extension with Minnesota Vikings

This time of year is normally supposed to be full of sports and action but as well know, that is not the case in 2020 due to unprecedented events. With no sports, the days have felt empty in a way but luckily, NFL Free agency has helped offset that these past few days.

NFL free agency has also been very kind to former OSU Cowboys, with a third former Poke receiving a multi year deal.

This time it is 10 year NFL veteran and Minnesota Vikings kicker Dan Bailey, who has signed a 3 year extension with the purple and gold.

It has not yet been reported how much the deal is worth but it is expected to be a multi-million dollar deal for the former pro bowler.

Bailey has spent the last two seasons in Minnesota after spending the first eight years of his career as a Dallas Cowboy.

Bailey was cut from the Cowboys after the 2017 season after having two of his worst seasons as a pro, one of which was due to some injury problems. He then would sign a one year deal with the Vikings to replace an injured kicker but would not yet return to his prior known dominance.

In 2019 the Vikings re-signed Bailey with hopes he would return to his normal form and struck gold when he churned out one his best seasons ever as a field goal kicker, where he ranked 3rd in the league in field goal percentage.

The Vikings have rewarded the former undrafted kicker with a new deal that cements his place in Minnesota. Last year, Bailey made $1 million dollars on the dot for his salary with $1.75 million the year before. Now that he has proven he can still be among the best, I would not be surprised to see his yearly salary higher than the two previous seasons.

As most kickers contracts are formed, a large portion of his contract will most likely be based on his kicking percentages on the field and any other accolades he may reach.

As I said in the beginning, this is the third former Cowboy to hit big in 2020 free agency with Blake Jarwin and Emmanuel Ogbah, signing large contracts with Dallas and Miami, respectively.

Both Jarwin and Bailey are former walk ons at Oklahoma State, showing the grind and process they had to reach to even make it to the NFL, much less have multi year careers and secure second and third contracts worth millions.

We congratulate Bailey on his success and new contract with the Minnesota Vikings and hope he has all the success in the world.