In a recent interview with 107.5 The Fan, Indianapolis Colts’ kicker Matt Gay acknowledged that his first season with the team in 2023 was a “down year” by his standards.
With the Colts last season, Gay would make 35 of his 36 extra point attempts, and he was also quite good from under 40 yards, making 18 of those 19 attempts. However, it was from deep where Gay was inconsistent. From 40-plus yards, Gay was 15-for-22, with five of those seven misses coming from 50 yards or more.
Gay would hit 33 of his 41 field goal attempts on the season, which included a historic performance in Week 3 against Baltimore, where he became the first kicker in NFL history to make four kicks from 50-plus yards, including the game-winner.
But overall, the 2023 season was not up to the standards that Gay has set for himself, ranking 26th in field goal percentage, making 80.5 percent of his attempts.
“I feel like last year, for me, a bit of a down year by my standards coming off some good years,” said Gay via 107.5 The Fan. “Had a lot of kicks that were right there, and again that doesn’t matter, kicking’s black and white, it either went in or it didn’t.
“So I had a lot of kicks that hit the upright, or things like that, so definitely was not up to my standards last year. A lot that I can learn from, and looking forward to Year 2 to improve and come back better.”
During the 2023 offseason, Gay signed a four-year, $22.5 million deal, which included $13 million guaranteed, according to Over the Cap.
At the time, this was the second-most lucrative contract for a kicker in NFL history. This season, Gay will be the third-highest-paid kicker, averaging $5.625 million per year, trailing only Baltimore’s Justin Tucker and Philadelphia’s Jake Elliot.
The margin for winning and losing in the NFL is incredibly small, as can be the difference between making the playoffs and missing out on them, just as the Colts experienced last season. Gay is one of the highest-paid kickers in the game, and part of the equation to getting over that playoff hump for the Colts will include Gay living up to that contract.
To listen to the full interview with Gay, click here.