New England is unwilling to pay the $3 million price tag for their star kicker, and now have until March 3 to work out a deal and prevent him from becoming an unrestricted free agent.

01:00 AM EST on Thursday, February 23, 2006

BY TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer

Adam Vinatieri will come one step closer to hitting the open seas of free agency today.

The Patriots have until 4 p.m. today to designate a franchise player, and all indications are that they won't use the designation. New England made Vinatieri their franchise player in 2002 and 2005. Not doing it today means that -- unless the team and the kicker come to a contract accord before March 3 -- he will be an unrestricted free agent.

The franchise tag allows a team to keep a player out of free agency. Usually, that means paying him a salary equal to the top five salaries at his position. But if a player is already the highest paid at his position, he must be given a 20-percent raise over his previous year's salary.

The Patriots gave Vinatieri the 20-percent bump last year and paid him $2.51 million. But the expense of franchising Vinatieri in 2006, $3.01 million, is just too rich for New England. By comparison, the highest salaried kicker on the books for 2006 according to the NFLPA Web site is Arizona's Neil Rackers, who will make $1.8 million.

Best-case scenario for Vinatieri and the Patriots is a new deal before March 3. Rackers, the league's most productive kicker over the last two seasons, signed a four-year, $6.4-million extension with the Cardinals last November that included a $3-million signing bonus. Certainly, Vinatieri would command the same money, maybe more.

Attempts to lock up Vinatieri long-term during the 2005 offseason failed. There have been no substantial conversations during this offseason.

The 10-year veteran, at 33, is closer to the end of his career than the start and had a career-low 25 field goal attempts in 2005 (making 20). Still, he is the gold standard for kicking in unkind weather and heavy pressure. There is only one kicker in the Hall of Fame (Jan Stenerud), but Vinatieri is a pretty good bet to get there one day thanks to his game-winning kicks in Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII.

He's played his entire career with the Patriots and is one of the team's best-liked players. If he hits the open market, Vinatieri is almost certain to be contacted by the Dallas Cowboys. Bill Parcells, the Cowboys head coach, initially signed Vinatieri back in 1995 when he was coaching the Patriots. Dallas has had kicking woes the last few seasons.

Wide receiver David Givens is another high-profile Patriot who'll become a free agent March 3 if a new deal isn't worked out before then. All has been quiet on that front so far.

tcurran@projo.com / (401) 277-7340