Aussie NFL star gets mega payday with $20m jackpot

Michael Dickson has officially hit the big time.

The Aussie punter has secured a four-year contract extension worth $19 million (AUD) with the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL.

The deal, which will earn Dickson $4.6 million (AUD) per year, means he will become the NFL’s second-highest paid punter behind the Los Angeles Rams’ Johnny Hekker.

Dickson’s deal includes $18.7m (AUD) in “new money” that could reach as much as $20m million, according to ESPN.

He will make $13.7 million over the first two seasons on top of a $8.4 million signing bonus.

Pen to paper. ✍️

Well deserved, @mdcksn! pic.twitter.com/VUwjuByJqu

In his first three seasons in the NFL since being drafted by the Seahawks in 2018 with pick no. 149, Dickson has captured the attention of Seahawks and football fans with his unique kicking style and long bombs.

Dickson was selected for the 2018 Pro Bowl, an All-Star style game featuring the best players in the game, becoming the first rookie punter named to start since LA Rams punter Dale Hatcher in 1985.

Michael Dickson is doing kicks some punters can only dream of.Source:Getty Images

He went through somewhat of a sophomore slump in 2019 compared to his first season in the league, in which he rewrote the record books.

But the punter bounced back to form in 2020 and was unlucky to miss out on a Pro Bowl appearance.

Dickson grew up in Sydney before moving to Melbourne to enrol at Prokick Australia, a program that helps young Australians land punting scholarships with American colleges.

He then moved to the US to pursue a college and professional football career, attending Texas University for three years before being drafted by the Seahawks.

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