"Pat McAfee livid" "MASSIVE underpay": NFL fans react to AJ Cole signing $15,800,000 Raiders deal

AJ Cole went undrafted during the 2019 NFL Draft. He signed with the Las Vegas Raiders as a UDFA agent. Cole went on to secure his spot on the 53-man roster by beating out his competition, Johnny Townsend. Over the years, the 3x Pro Bowler has become one of the best punters in the league.

The Las Vegas Raiders decided to lock in AJ Cole for a few more seasons. On Monday, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that the team has provided the punter with a contract extension.

They have finalized a four-year deal worth $15.8 million, which also includes $11 million in guaranteed money. This makes AJ Cole the highest-paid punter in the NFL.

"Cole has one year remaining on his current deals, so he's now under contract for the next 5 seasons at just under $20M. Deal negotiated by Erik Schmella, Jordan Donald and Tyler Thomas of @TheFamilie," Schultz tweeted.

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Fans took to social media to share their thoughts and reactions to Cole's new contract with the Raiders.

"Pat McAfee livid," one fan commented.

"Big bag nice contract for a Punter," another fan stated.

"Amen. Gotta take care of the backbone of our team- our kickers," this fan wrote.

"THE BEST PUNTER IN THE LEAGUE IS COMING BACK I LOVE YOU AJ COLE," another fan said.

However, some fans felt that the Raiders were not paying Cole enough.

"MASSIVE underpay," this fan wrote.

"Underpaid!!!!!" one fan commented.

Cole has spent six seasons so far with the Raiders. In 100 games, he has tallied 18,193 punting yards while punting 374 times on the field. During the 2023 season, he set the league record for gross punt average(63.6 yards) during their game against the Giants. This record was broken by Bengals rookie Ryan Rehkow last season.

AJ Cole shared a message for fans after signing multi-million-dollar extension

After finalizing his contract extension, AJ Cole took to social media with a special message for his fans.

On X, Cole shared the tweet from Jordan Schultz talking about his new contract. He accompanied it with a four-word message showcasing his loyalty to the franchise.

"raider nation for life!!!," he wrote.

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The Raiders will begin their 2025 campaign with a season opener against the New England Patriots on September 7. It will be interesting to see how they perform following an underwhelming 4-13 campaign last season.

About the author

Priyam is a College Sports content executive at Sportskeeda with a master's in Advertising and Marketing Management and over two years of experience as a writer. When it comes to reporting, Priyam believes doing a technical deep dive is one of his biggest strengths and he loves to dissect plays on the field and factor out the strengths/weaknesses of players.

A fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Priyam sees Nick Saban as the greatest coach of all time. He is also rooting for Alabama quarterback Jalen Milore after following his progress over the years. The Michigan Wolverines football team is another of his favorite programs and it will be interesting to see how both these teams perform in new coaching eras.

When he’s not reporting, Priyam is usually at the gym or indulging in music. He has been a guitarist and a drummer for the past 17 years and finds his time of peace when playing music.

Know More

Raiders Nation! Check out the latest Las Vegas Raiders Schedule and dive into the Raiders Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

Edited by Ruth John S