NFL Kicker: The Easiest Job In The World

One million, fifty thousand dollars (for those of you that slept through that elementary class that’s $1,050,000). That’s the 2005 salary of former Miami Dolphins—now New Orleans Saints—place kicker Olindo Mare (source: foxsports.com), statistically the worst kicker of the 2006-2007 NFL season, making 72% of his field goal attempts. He receives this money (excluding any bonuses he has) just by making an NFL roster. Granted, for any average person, making any professional sports team in virtually impossible—even if it is NFL kicker. Everyone can’t just be Vincent Papoli and go to and through tryouts on a whim. However, this is the case for any respectable career. I mean, very few people can wake up tomorrow and say, “I want to be a surgeon,” then be hired on the spot.
Speaking of surgeons, the US average salary for a surgeon is $257,735 (no need to write this one out because it’s grammatically correct). I know some of you are thinking, “Well what about the top surgeons?” Well, that average is slightly less than $800,000 (source: cbsalary.com). Either way, a surgeon—one whom may be called to perform life-saving operations and if an avoidable mistake is made and that person dies, he will lose his license to practice—makes less money than someone that kicks an oblong-shaped, pigskin-covered ball for a living.
I’m not saying that what a kicker does is easy and anyone off the street can do it. I’m saying that the worst thing that can happen to them is disappointment and maybe a story in the media, depending on the game and the situation. The worst possible case in which a kicker actually had to fear for his life was Scott Norwood, who missed the game-winning field goal in Super Bowl XXV. His life was actually in danger because Buffalo Bills fans were desperate for a championship. But few people forget that he kicked for the Bills the following year, so someone forgave him. Oh, and he also received his check. Now let’s say a surgeon has to save the life of a man suffering a blood clot in the brain, and he mistakenly cuts two millimeters to the right of the desired point and the patient dies. He will be sued for malpractice, and probably lose his license to practice surgery. It’s also an honest mistake. No one’s perfect.
Now let’s not forget the fact that a kicker may only have to be on the field one time—when he kicks off at the beginning of either half. Now that’s unlikely, but teams do get shutout, so it is possible. The kicker still receives a game check, and can honestly say for that shut out that he, “Did all he could to help his team win.” And each game is timed; meaning once the clock hits 0:00 in the fourth quarter, the game’s over. Some surgeries take 10, 12 hours to complete, then sometimes there’s still a possibility that the patient may not make it.
My point is, making or missing a kick does not save lives. It just brings emotion, whether it’s joy or disappointment. The people who are involved with saving lives—the policemen, firefighters, our troops, doctors, etc.—should be paid more, but hey; that’s big business and that’s the entertainment industry. Since it produces so much revenue, employees receive big salaries. Next time a kick goes wide right, don’t feel sorry for that kicker, he gets paid more than a lifesaver to do his job.



By: Johnathan D. Tillman