2023 NFL Free Agency: Gamecock record-holder gets new contract
By Kevin Miller
NFL free agency is heating up as the official NFL league year begins today, March 15th. Former Gamecocks like Taylor Stallworth and Keisean Nixon recently agreed to terms on deals that will become official later on today.
However, another Gamecock agreed to his deal well before Stallworth and Nixon. Kicker Parker White is a Green Bay Packer. The all-time leading scorer in South Carolina football history, White agreed to a futures deal in January with the historic franchise. His deal guarantees him a spot on the 90-man roster, and with veteran kicker Mason Crosby testing free agency and no other kickers on the roster, White seems poised to be the man in Green Bay.
White has not had an NFL opportunity like this one. He had several camp invites and tryouts that went well in the past, but nothing had quite worked out until this chance with the Packers. With the NFL league year starting today, White’s contract is now official.
While wearing garnet and black, White showed that he possesses a strong leg, but he was also one of the most accurate kickers to ever play at Carolina. After an up-and-down freshman season, White became the model of reliability for the Gamecocks. This culminated with a senior campaign in which he went 16-17 on field goal attempts and was a perfect 30-30 on extra-point tries.
White’s final game as a Gamecock was the 2021 Duke’s Mayo Bowl. During that game, White passed Elliott Fry as South Carolina’s all-time leading scorer and tied Collin Mackie for the most career field goals made. His 368 points responsible for and 72 made field goals should have earned him an opportunity with an NFL club sooner than this, but Gamecock fans everywhere know that the Packers found themselves a worthy successor to the legendary Mason Crosby.
White will likely face some competition during camp, but his guaranteed spot on the 90-man roster’s payroll should provide him an upper hand. White’s deal is non-guaranteed moving forward but could be for up to three seasons and could be worth as much as $2.6 Million.