Mason Crosby kicks a field goal in a win over the Seattle Seahawks last season. Credit: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Green Bay — The Green Bay Packers didn't need the franchise tag for kicker Mason Crosby because just hours after the deadline passed for using it Tuesday, the veteran agreed to terms on a four-year deal, according to an NFL source.

Crosby's agent, Mike McCartney, later confirmed the deal on Twitter.

According to the source, Crosby's deal is worth $16 million and includes a $5 million signing bonus. The $4 million average yearly salary ranks second in the NFL behind New England's Stephen Gostkowski ($4.3 million) among kickers with multiyear deals.

It does not include Baltimore's Justin Tucker, who received the franchise tag and will make $4.572 million if he agrees to play for the one-year offer. Chances are he will sign a multiyear deal at some point and move ahead of Crosby in average salary.

Gostkowski's four-year deal, signed last summer, includes $10.1 million of guaranteed money, the most any kicker in NFL history has ever received. The $5 million Crosby received ranks sixth in the NFL among kickers.

The deadline for applying franchise and transition tags came and went at 3 p.m. Tuesday and the Packers chose not to use it for a sixth consecutive off-season.

Realistically, the only candidate for one of the two tags was Crosby, who would have drawn some interest on the open market if the Packers weren't able to reach a deal with him by the start of free agency March 9.

But general manager Ted Thompson has a history of re-signing his best players and he was able to guarantee that the franchise's all-time leading scorer would be back. Crosby, 31, is coming off one of his best seasons and the prospect of finding someone else who could deal with the uneven conditions at Lambeau Field would have been unappealing.

Getting Crosby signed more than a week before the start of free agency means Thompson has accomplished his top two pre-draft priorities. In December, Thompson signed defensive lineman Mike Daniels, one of his best defensive players, to a four-year, $41 million contract extension.

Last month, Thompson also re-signed defensive lineman Letroy Guion to a three-year, $11.05 million extension, ensuring he would be protected if free-agent nose tackle B.J. Raji left.

In expressing a desire to stay in Green Bay, Crosby said near the end of last season that he felt connected with quarterback Aaron Rodgers both because of their age and the nature of their jobs. Both of them are directly responsible for putting points on the board and when one isn't able to do it the other is there to pick him up.

"I feel like Aaron and I, we've talked about it some, but it's almost like an unspoken thing," Crosby said of complementing each other. "He expects to score touchdowns every time. And, if he's not able to put it in the end zone, or the offense doesn't score a touchdown, then I'm coming on and I got to hit the kick.

"There's this flow there that, over these eight years together, it feels just natural. We obviously work together there and having that confidence. I know we are going to either drive the ball down and score a touchdown or I'm going to have a chance to go and get that field goal. I think it's just those experiences over time that definitely build confidence and consistency."

Thompson avoided the stress of waiting until the last minute to get a deal done as he had last year with receiver Randall Cobb and tackle Bryan Bulaga and the year before with cornerback Sam Shields. Now, there's very little pressure on Thompson to do anything but see what the market holds for his other free agents, none of whom appear to be priorities for re-signing.

The Packers' other high-profile free agents besides Raji are cornerback Casey Hayward and outside linebackers Mike Neal and Nick Perry. Raji and Neal are two players Thompson might want back, but not at a high price, so he may just sit tight and wait to see what interest they draw in free agency before deciding what, if anything, to offer them.

Hayward probably won't be back because the Packers are heavy at the cornerback position after drafting Damarious Randall in the first round and Quinten Rollins in the second round last year. Both appear to be starting quality, and with three other young corners, LaDarius Gunter, Demetri Goodson and Robertson Daniel, in place, there's no reason to pay money for another corner.

With the salary cap officially set at $155.27 million, the Packers were about $21.537 million under the spending limit headed into Tuesday. Crosby's deal probably will take up about $2.4 million of cap room, leaving the Packers about $19.1 million to use on free agents, draft choices and future contract extensions.

Three years ago, Thompson probably wouldn't have paid the price he did for Crosby had his kicker been a free agent. Crosby was coming off a disastrous 2012 season and Thompson brought in competition to see how his 2007 sixth-round pick would respond.

Crosby hit a career-low 63.6% of his field goals and appeared to have lost his confidence in '12, but he came back strong the next year and in the three years since that awful season he has hit 97 of 111 field goals (87.4%) and 141 of 143 extra points (98.6%) in 53 regular- and post-season games.

Last year he was one of only five kickers to make all his extra points from the newly instituted placement at the 15-yard line.

Crosby will be able to build on his franchise-leading total of 1,057 points, a record that should he play all four years of the contract could stand for decades. He holds the team single-season record for most points scored (141) and longest field goal (58 yards).

"I want to do right by this team," Crosby said in December. "I want to make sure that every time I go out on the field, I am focused on doing my process, going out there and trying to help this team win. It's like everybody here in this locker room.

"Obviously I want to be a Packer. I love playing here. This is all I know. It's home to me. It's a special place. I would love nothing more than to just continue my career here."