The Houston Texans are keeping their kicker around for a while longer. According to multiple reports, the Texans are signing Ka'imi Fairbairn to a three-year, $15.9 million contract extension.
The deal makes Fairbairn the third-highest paid kicker in the league in terms of average annual value. His $5.3 million average checks in behind only the Ravens' Justin Tucker ($6 million) and the Rams' Matt Gay ($5.62 million). Fairbairn's previous contract held an average annual value of $4.41 million, which ranked ninth in the NFL, according KPRC 2 in Houston.
Fairbairn has spent his entire seven-year career with the Texans, who signed him as an undrafted free agent out of UCLA in 2016. He spent the 2016 season on injured reserve, and has served as the team's regular kicker since 2017.
For his career, he is 175 of 201 on field goals (87.1%), giving him the eighth-most kicks made and attempted, and the ninth-best percentage during that span. He has made over 93% of his field goals in each of the last two seasons, including a 27-of-28 season last year, with his only miss coming from 51 yards out.
Fairbairn has also converted 92.4% of his extra points in his career, and is 45 of 46 over the past two seasons. He posted the second-highest touchback rate of his career (63.8%) on his kickoffs in 2023 as well. He's still just 30 years old, so if he keeps up the strong performance he could get another contract or two before his career is over.
