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Dan Bailey Re-Signs With the Minnesota Vikings

Dan Bailey is coming off one of the worst seasons of a highly impressive career. He'll hope to get back on the right track after signing his new deal.

Eight-year veteran kicker Dan Bailey signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings. His contract carries with it a max of $2 million in incentives and keeps him with the team until 2020. Bailey spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Dallas Cowboys before joining the Vikings in 2018.

The #Vikings re-signed kicker Dan Bailey to a one-year, $1 million deal, source said. Max $2M with incentives.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 19, 2019

Dan Bailey Signs New Deal With the Minnesota Vikings

Bailey is coming off one of the worst seasons of a highly impressive career. Appearing in 14 games, Bailey finished the season converting 21 of 28 field goal attempts and 31 of 32 extra points. His 75% field goal percentage was tied for the worst of his career and his missed extra point was one of just three missed PAT’s in his career. Bailey made 16 of his 17 field goal attempts within 40 yards but only hit on five of his 11 kicks from beyond 40 yards.

At his peak, Bailey was one of the best kickers of his era. Originally joining the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent following the 2011 draft. Winning the job outright, Bailey converted 86.5% of his field goals as a rookie and 100% of his extra points. He only improved from there, as Bailey was arguably the league’s best kicker from 2012 to 2016. Bailey converted 90.3% of his field goals and all 211 of his extra-point attempts.

Bailey’s best season likely came during the 2015 season. Playing in all 16 games, Bailey recorded a league-leading 93.8% field goal percentage while converting 100% of field goals within 40 yards. This impressive performance earned him his first career Pro Bowl nomination.

Despite the overall career success, Bailey has struggled in recent seasons. Over the past two years, Bailey has converted just 75% of his field goal attempts. He’s been especially bad from beyond 40 yards, as Bailey converted just 12 of 21 of his long-distance field goals since 2017.

Even with his recent struggles, Bailey is still one of the most accurate kickers in football history. According to Pro Football Reference, Bailey’s 86.6% field goal percentage is the fifth-best rate in history. Interestingly, all four players ahead of him are still playing in the league (Justin Tucker, Robbie Gould, Stephen Gostkowski, and Wil Lutz).