Harrison Butker has a contract extension and no regrets about his viral commencement speech.
The Kansas City Chiefs kicker told reporters Wednesday that he stands by his remarks about marriage, parenthood, religion and politics, which he delivered in May at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas.
“I’m going to stand behind what it is I’m saying,” Butker said.
The kicker faced intense pushback for his comments, which touched on a variety of hot-button topics, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Pride Month and abortion, as the Deseret News previously reported.
Critics were especially frustrated by his message to female graduates.
He said they had been told “diabolical lies” about what would bring them satisfaction in life and praised his wife for her work as a homemaker.
“Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” he said.
Although some people, including some of his teammates, defended Butker by pointing out ways in which his speech was being mischaracterized or taken out of context, the kicker has mostly refrained from trying to win over his critics.
Instead, he has talked about the importance of using his platform to promote his Catholic faith, and he did so again Wednesday.
“I kind of look at the offseason as a little bit of a maybe five-month period where I can just represent me as Harrison Butker as a faithful Catholic. And then obviously when it gets to the season, I try to focus as much as I can on football and not being a distraction for the Chiefs,” he said.
Harrison Butker contract
Amid the commencement speech controversy in May, the Chiefs’ respect for Butker became apparent as multiple team leaders spoke out to praise his character.
“I’ve known Harrison, I’ve known him for seven years. I judge him by the character that he shows every single day, and that’s a good person, that’s someone who cares about the people around him, cares about his family and wants to make a good impact on society,” said star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, as the Deseret News previously reported.
This week, the Chiefs organization further signaled its trust in Butker by signing him to a four-year, $25.6 million contract extension.
“Butker’s new deal includes $17.8 million in guaranteed money,” NFL.com reported, noting that Butker is now the highest paid kicker in the NFL.
During his press conference Wednesday, Butker said the support he’s received from his team has meant a lot to him.
“There aren’t many sports where you have 50 to 100 guys with a bunch of different beliefs and we’re all fighting together to win. So you have a bunch of different personalities, a bunch of different backgrounds, and we’re all there together trying to understand each other and realize that, at the end of the day, we have one goal together — and that’s to win football games,” he said, per ESPN.
He added that people out in the world who are unhappy with his speech might be surprised about what he’s like in real life.
“I want people to know that no matter what I say — it might be the complete opposite of you — I’m still going to love you no matter what your opinions are, no matter how different we may be. I’m going to love you and we’re going to get along and probably be good friends,” he said.