The Indianapolis Colts continue making big investments in their kicking game. After making kicker Matt Gay the second-highest-paid kicker in the league, the Colts now handed out long snapper Luke Rhodes the richest contract for his position.
Rhodes reportedly inked a four-year, $6.465 million extension with 2.5 million in guarantees. The 30-year-old previously had one year with a $1.2 base salary left on his deal.
Rhodes’ path to becoming the highest-paid long-snapper in the NFL was everything but usual. After playing college football at William & Mary as a linebacker, he entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2016 and landed on the Colts’ practice squad.
After receiving limited action at the linebacker position in his rookie year, Rhodes decided to give snapping a try after receiving a suggestion from the Colts’ general manager Chris Ballard. Rhodes spent the 2017 offseason learning tricks of the trade and won the Colts’ starting long snapper job in training camp.
Since then, Rhodes established himself as one of the best long-snappers in the league. He received First-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2021 on top of a Second-team All-Pro nod in 2020. The 30-year-old also got to make 11 tackles while playing the position.
