Two-time All-Pro AJ Cole agreed to a four-year, $15.8 million extension with the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday that makes him the highest-paid punter in football.
A person familiar with the deal said it includes $11 million in guaranteed money and his incentives that could increase the value of the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team hadn't announced the contract.
The deal was first reported by Fox Sports.
Cole had one year remaining on his contract that was set to pay him $3.3 million in base salary this season before reaching an extension to keep him under contract through the 2029 season.
Cole is one the few players remaining on the Raiders roster who was with the team before the move to Las Vegas in 2020. The only other current Raiders who played for the team in Oakland are kicker Daniel Carlson, edge rusher Maxx Crosby and tackle Kolton Miller.
Cole originally signed with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2019 and has been one of the top punters in the game ever since. He was a first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler in both 2021 and 2023 and also made the Pro Bowl in 2022,as well.
Since entering the league, Cole ranks first among the 31 punters with at least 175 punts with 44.9% of his punts being downed inside the 20. He also ranks third in gross punting average (48.6 yards) and eighth in net average (42.1 yards).
Cole has averaged at least 50 yards per punt in three of the last four seasons, tied with Ryan Stenhouse for the most seasons ever with an average of 50 yards per punt.
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FILE - Las Vegas Raiders punter AJ Cole (6) warms before an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri,File)
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A man handed an illegal prison sentence years longer than the maximum penalty for his crime has been granted clemency by Mississippi's governor, weeks after the man's brother received clemency in a similar case.
Gov. Tate Reeves announced Wednesday that he was granting clemency to Maurice Taylor. The man's brother, Marcus Taylor, received clemency earlier this month from the governor for another illegal sentence.
In February 2015, both brothers accepted plea bargains and pled guilty to conspiracy to sell a Schedule III substance.
At the time, the maximum penalty for conspiracy to sell a Schedule III substance was five years. Yet Maurice Taylor was sentenced to 20 years in prison with five years suspended, and Marcus Taylor to 15 years.
“Like his brother, Maurice Taylor received a sentence more than three times longer than allowed under Mississippi law,” Reeves wrote in his announcement. “When justice is denied to even one Mississippian, it is denied to us all.”
In May, the Mississippi Court of Appeals had ruled that Marcus Taylor’s sentence was illegal, but did not commute his sentence because Taylor had missed the deadline to apply for post-conviction relief. After rehearing that case in November, the court reversed course and ordered his release.
In Wednesday's order, Reeves wrote that Maurice Taylor's post-conviction counsel contacted his office for the first time a few weeks ago, providing legal documents in his case. Maurice Taylor must be released within five days, according to Reeves’ order.
The Associated Press was not immediately able to identify and contact Maurice Taylor's post-conviction counsel.
The brothers are the only people to receive clemency from Reeves.
FILE - Republican Gov. Tate Reeves responds to a reporter's question during a news conference Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
