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Tucker sets kicker record with 4-year extension

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The most accurate kicker in NFL history is now the highest-paid one.

Justin Tucker signed a four-year extension Wednesday that will keep him with the Baltimore Ravens through the 2023 season, the team announced.

The extension is worth $20.45 million, bringing the total of the five-year deal to $23.05 million, and includes $12.5 million fully guaranteed in the first two years and an $8 million signing bonus, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

"I'll just be honest, he's the best kicker in the league," general manager Eric DeCosta said. "If you agree to that, it's pretty easy to get a deal done."

Tucker had been scheduled to become a free agent at the end of the 2019 season. This deal keeps Tucker with the Ravens through the 2023 season.

"Thank you to Eric [DeCosta], Harbs [John Harbaugh] and the Ravens for placing their faith in me and to continue to build upon what we're building here," Tucker said. "I think we're trending in the right direction as a team."

The 29-year-old Tucker has put himself in a class by himself among kickers, converting 90.1 percent of his field goal attempts. No other kicker has hit over 88 percent for a career.

"I think he's the best in the history of the game," coach John Harbaugh said at the NFL combine in February.

Known for his strong leg and big personality, Tucker is the first kicker in league history to make at least 30 field goals in six seasons. Excluding blocked kicks, he hasn't missed a field goal from inside 50 yards since 2015.

But Tucker believes his success comes from not forgetting the failures. He said Wednesday that he will put the football from the only extra point he's ever missed -- which cost the Ravens in a loss to New Orleans last season -- on the same shelf as his game balls.

"That's part of my story, and I want to be able to look at that and realize that was a learning moment and perhaps a pivotal moment for me as a professional," Tucker said.

He made 35 of his 39 field goal attempts last season, including five of 50 yards or longer, and finished with 141 points.

Tucker joined the Ravens as an undrafted free agent and tryout player in 2012. He beat out Billy Cundiff for the job and quickly established himself as one of the top kickers in the game.

He was named a first-team All-Pro for the third time last season, however Tucker has not made the Pro Bowl the past two seasons despite missing a combined seven field goals in 2017 and 2018. In those seasons, Tucker is 69-for-76 for a 90.8 percent success rate.

Tucker has spent his entire seven-year NFL career with the Ravens, making 237 of his 263 attempts and missing only one PAT in 242 regular-season attempts for a total of 952 points.

"Believe it or not, I think his best kicking is in front of him," Harbaugh said.

With Tucker signed, other Ravens in line for extensions are outside linebacker Matthew Judon, inside linebacker Patrick Onwuasor and defensive tackle Michael Pierce.