Harrison Butker addresses contract extension, standing by speech made at Benedictine College

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Harrison Butker spoke to local reporters for the first time since becoming the highest-paid kicker in the NFL and his controversial viral speech at Benedictine College.

“It’s good to know that the kicker market is still moving forward,” Butker said of his contract. “It feels like just yesterday I was coming to the Chiefs facility for the first time.”

Butker represented himself in the negotiation with the Kansas City Chiefs and said the entire process took roughly 8-10 weeks.

“It was a lot of fun,” Butker said. “I kind of attacked this fear. I wanted to have faith in myself and go out there and represent myself.”

On his commencement speech, Butker said Wednesday he “stands behind” what he said in May. Butker gave a commencement speech at Benedictine College that touched on COVID, President Joe Biden’s policies, Pride month and the role of women and men in society.

“Ever since that speech, there’s been tons of conversations inside the locker room, connecting and trying to understand each other,” Butker said.

The Chiefs kicker said that after he was invited to speak at Benedictine College, he prayed on it for months and that even though he is an introvert and does not typically say much in public settings, he wanted to share his viewpoint.

In his speech, Butker shared with the graduates on Saturday, specifically the women in attendance, how his wife has felt most fulfilled in her life being a homemaker.

When asked what his response is to people who interpreted his speech as putting women’s value down in the workforce, Butker responded with:

In the fallout, Butker’s jersey became one of the most popular jerseys in the NFL.

Butker also described being in the room when his teammate BJ Thompson suffered a seizure and went into cardiac arrest during a Chiefs special teams meeting. The Chiefs kicker raced toward the training room and alerted team doctors that Thompson was experiencing a medical episode.

“It’s amazing that BJ is alive and with us,” Butker reflected. “There were so many guys in that room that assisted him. A bunch of guys got in a circle and were praying for him. It was just a tough time, but again another thing that has brought our team together. And so I’m very thankful for BJ and for all those that helped him.”

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