Placekicker Jason Elam has spent 15 seasons with the Denver Broncos, but Friday he agreed to return home to Atlanta, where he'll likely finish his stellar — and historic — NFL career with the Falcons.

Elam, 38, signed a four-year, $9 million contract ($3.3 million guaranteed) to take over from highly respected 47-year-old Morten Andersen.

The Falcons hope to gain stability at his position, which has been problematic in the early stages of the past two seasons until Andersen, the NFL's all-time leading scorer, was summoned off the golf course to bail out failed gambles on inexperienced kickers.

Punter Michael Koenen, a restricted free agent whose rights have been retained by the Falcons, is projected to handle kickoff duties again.

Elam's departure from Denver will be a sentimental loss. He won his share of games for the Broncos, tied Tom Dempsey for the NFL's longest field goal made (63 yards) and became part of the fabric of the franchise. Elam has 1,786 career points and has scored at least 100 points in every season.

His arrival in Atlanta will be a sentimental return.

Elam grew up in Snellville and played at Brookwood High. His mother still lives in the area, and he has other family in the region. The devout and civically active kicker spent his offseasons in metro Atlanta before moving to Denver full time in 2003.

The locale, kicking in a dome, the new coaching staff and a franchise excited to compensate him handsomely were the selling points for Elam not to return to Denver or take a trip to Seattle, which also wanted him to visit. Elam met with Falcons officials Wednesday and Thursday.

Though Elam has lost some of his deep punch on his kicks, he still has a strong leg and has been incredibly accurate (80.6 percent) in his career. The past two seasons, he averaged a 90 percent conversion rate on field goals.