Report: Bills, P Haack agree to revised contract

The punter agreed to a pay cut and voided the final year of his deal

The Buffalo Bills and punter Matt Haack have agreed to a revised contract, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. That contract voids the final year of Haack’s three-year contract, and it also calls for a reduction in Haack’s pay for this season.

Initially slated to earn a $350,000 roster bonus next week and $1.485 million in salary in 2022, Haack now will only earn a $1.135 million salary. Buffalo could have released Haack at a dead-cap number of $700,000. Essentially, they’ve taken the dead money they would have incurred by releasing Haack and cut it from his pay to lower his cap number.

The most important piece of information is that the new deal removes all the guaranteed money from the contract. Essentially it’s a one-year deal at the veteran minimum and he can be cut at any point.

Haack finished his first season with Buffalo as one of the league’s worst punters from a statistical standpoint, finishing in the lower tier of most every important category. He averaged 42.9 gross yards per punt, which was third-worst among punters with enough boots to qualify for the leaderboard. He averaged a paltry 37.6 net yards per punt, which was tied for the lowest total in the league among those same qualifiers. He was, however, a reliable holder for kicker Tyler Bass.

UPDATE (10:11 AM): According to Joe Buscaglia, sources tell him that Haack’s $1 million base salary guarantee was removed as part of the renegotiated contract. That guarantee would have taken effect on March 18.