The Green Bay Packers have signed punter Tim Masthay to a four-year contract extension that will make him the 15th highest paid player at his position.

Masthay, who would have become a restricted free agent after this season, signed the four-year, $5.465 million deal on July 26, the first day of training camp. The contract included a $1.2 million signing bonus.

The team has not announced the signing. It was reported first by NFL.com.

Masthay's deal averages $1.366 million and places him 15th among punters in average salary per year.

"His mechanics are very sound right now, the best that they've been since I've been around him," special teams coach Shawn Slocum said Wednesday. "His drop, his footwork, his body position, his eyes. He's hitting the ball well. Very solid."

Masthay, 25, arrived in January 2010 after a failed free-agent stint as a rookie in Indianapolis. He beat out Chris Bryan in '10 training camp and has held the job for two years. His performance erased memories of the league-worst punting of Jeremy Kapinos in 2009.

Under the new contract, Masthay's $540,000 base salary this year will remain unchanged. His base salaries will increase to $765,000 in 2013, $900,000 in 2014, $1 million in 2015 and $1.2 million in 2016.

In addition, he will receive a $100,000 workout bonus in each of the next four years.

The highest-paid punter is Oakland's Shane Lechler at $4 million per year. Nine punters average at least $2 million, including New Orleans' Thomas Morstead, San Diego's Mike Scifres, San Francisco's Andy Lee, Tampa Bay's Michael Koenen, Baltimore's Sam Koch, the New York Giants' Steve Weatherford, Buffalo's Adam Podlesh and Chicago's Dustin Podlesh.

Others with averages higher than Masthay are Kansas City's Dustin Colquitt, Washington's Sav Rocca, Seattle's Jon Ryan (a former Packer), Miami's Brandon Fields and Minnesota's Chris Kluwe.

Last season, Masthay ranked 15th in gross average (45.6) and tied for 19th in net average (38.6). His net was the best by a Green Bay punter since Jerry Norton averaged 39.2 in 1963.