I understand all of the emotion and respect for Vinatieri.
I just think we are missing the big picture in this type of debate. That being, almost every competant K makes most of their FGs. What is the difference between and average K and a top one? Vinatieri was 17th with 80% of his FGA made. 27 of the 32 kickers made 75% or more.
In other words, over an entire season the 27th best K on average would have missed one more.
I understand the clutch kick issue. But, when over 80% of ALL FGs are made in the league, its not a surprise when you make one, but a surprise when you dont.
Given that its an 80% chance, and aside from the Snow Bowl kick that is legendary, a big part of Vinatieri being the greatest clutch K is that he has had the opportunity to attempt clutch kicks.
The fact that he made them does make him special. But when you succeed a handful of times on something that is an 80% probability, its not shocking. The problem is he is compared on each of those kicks to a 0% probability.
No doubt, he has made great contributions, particularly the Snow Bowl. But to pay emormously for a guy who had the opportunity, and converted big kicks on the assumption they wouldn't have been made by another K when the average guy hits it 80% of the time, seems a stretch to me.
When it appears that his career is closer to the end than the beginning and he requires a large investment in retaining, I think the emotion of him being the guy in that spot needs to be tempered by the fact that what he did was simply his job, and its a job that most good Ks do not fail at.