Oldest Kickers Ever in the NFL

10 Oldest Kickers Ever in the NFL (Updated 2024)

In general an NFL kicker’s career can last longer than players in other positions, because although being a kicker requires great skill, as a special position, kickers are not regularly put in harm’s way like other players. In fact, there have been a number of kickers who have continued to play well into their 40s and this list contains the 10 oldest. A few of the kickers on this list are even still playing and could potential break more records in the future. Many of the oldest NFL kickers had prolific careers and still hold franchise and overall NFL records today.

As of July 2023, this list is as accurate as possible and will be updated in the future as needed.

10. Phil Dawson (January 23, 1975 – Present)

Oldest Age While Playing: 43 years, 10 months, 2 days on November 25, 2018
Years Active:  1999 – 2018 (20 seasons)
Team(s): Cleveland Browns (1999 – 2012; 2019); San Francisco 49ers (2013 – 2016); and Arizona Cardinals (2017 – 2018)

Phil Dawsonphoto source:  Wikimedia Commons via Erik Drost

Phil Dawson celebrated his 44th birthday and completed his 20th season in the NFL in early 2019. Near the end of the 2018 season, the Cardinals placed Dawson on the injured reserve following a hip injury. According to some in the Arizona Cardinals community, the team’s $6 million investment into the veteran kicker did not pay off.

Dawson did decide to retire in August 2019 after 20 seasons in the NFL. He signed a special one-day ceremonial contract with the Cleveland Browns (the team he started with) to retire as a member of the team. However, the last game that Dawson actually played was on November 25, 2018.

Prior to joining the Cardinals in 2017, Dawson played for three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, but spent most of his career with the Cleveland Browns. In NFL history, only Matt Bryant and Adam Vinatieri have a better field goal percentage than Dawson among kickers with 400+ field goal attempts.

Did You Know?

Phil Dawson is one of about a dozen players to appear in at least 300 regular season games.


9. Lou Groza (January 25, 1924 – November 29, 2000)

Oldest Age While Playing:43 years, 10 months, 23 days on December 17, 1967
Years Active:  1946 – 1959; and 1961 – 1967 (21 seasons)
Team(s):  Cleveland Browns (1946 – 1959), (1961 – 1967)

Lou Grozaphoto source:  Wikimedia Commons via Bowman

Lou Groza was the first and only the second (the other being Morten Andersen) exclusive kicker inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Groza played for 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns, where he set many franchise and NFL records, that have since been beaten. When he retired, Groza was the last remaining member of the original Browns team.

Groza left a lasting legacy in the NFL and even has an award named in his honor. The Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker award is given annually to the nation’s top collegiate placekicker and has become the most prestigious college football award a kicker can receive.

Did You Know?

One of Lou Groza’s kicking shoes is part of the collection at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.


8. Matt Bryant (May 29, 1975 – Present)

Oldest Age While Playing:44 years, 4 months, 29 days on October 27, 2019
Years Active:  2002 – 2019 (18 seasons)
Team(s):  New York Giants (2002 – 2003); Indianapolis Colts (2004); Miami Dolphins (2004); Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2005 – 2008); and Atlanta Falcons (2009 – 2019)

Matt Bryantphoto source:  Matt Bryant via Thomson200

Matt Bryant is technically (he is a free agent) one of the few kickers on this list who is still active and according to his most recent contract with the Atlanta Falcons, Bryant had plans to continue playing at least until he’s 45 years old. However, Bryant was released from the Falcons in late October 2019 and has yet to be signed to another team.

Bryant has been a consistently good kicker and he kicked the second longest game-winning field goal in NFL history, which was 62 yards, against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2006. Over his long career, Bryant has been named NFC Player of the Week seven times, twice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Giants and three times with Falcons.

Did You Know?

Matt Bryant is the Falcons all-time leading scorer and in his 10 seasons with the Falcons, Bryant has made 250 of his 282 attempted field goals for a percentage of 88.65.


7. Eddie Murray (August 29, 1956 – Present)

Oldest Age While Playing: 44 years, 3 months, 26 days on December 24, 2000
Years Active:  1980 – 1995; 1997; 1999 – 2000 (19 seasons)
Team(s): :  Detroit Lions (1980 – 1991); Kansas City Chiefs (1992); Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1992); Dallas Cowboys (1993), (1999); Philadelphia Eagles (1994); Washington Redskins (1995), (2000); and Minnesota Vikings (1997)

Eddie Murrayphoto source:  detroitathletic.com

Eddie Murray was born and raised in Canada and played football in high school. Murray was discovered by Tulane University during a football camp run by Canadian football coach Cal Murphy. After graduating from high school, Murray accepted a scholarship to play football for Tulane and during his senior year he had a perfect season.

Murray’s professional kicking career began in 1980 when he was drafted by the Detroit Lions. At the end of his time with the Lions, Murray was the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. Murray continued to bounce around teams until he retired in 2000. Currently, Murray is the 20th highest scorer in NFL history with 1,594 points.

Did You Know?

After retiring from the NFL, Eddie Murray established Eddie Murray Enterprises in 2003, which is a major trucking company based out of Detroit.


6. Ben Agajanian (August 28, 1919 – February 8, 2018)

Oldest Age While Playing:45 years, 2 months, 11 days on November 8, 1964
Years Active:  1945; 1947 – 1949; 1953 – 1957; 1960 – 1962; and 1964 (14 seasons)
Team(s):  Philadelphia Eagles (1945); Pittsburgh Steelers (1945); Los Angeles Dons (1947 – 1948); New York Giants (1949), (1954 – 1957); Los Angeles Rams (1953); Los Angeles Chargers (1960); Dallas Texans (1961); Green Bay Packers (1961); Oakland Raiders (1962); and San Diego Chargers (1964)

Ben Agajanianphoto source:  Wikimedia Commons via Bowman

Ben Agajanian is regarded as the first “kicking specialist” in professional football history and played for numerous teams over 14 seasons. Although Agajanian was a great kicker, he played inconsistently, had gaps in his career, and does not hold any NFL records.

After Agajanian retired from playing at 45 years of age, he became the NFL’s first kicking coach and spent the next 20 years with the Dallas Cowboys. Until last year, Agajanian was also one of the oldest living former football players. Agajanian passed away at the age of 98.

Did You Know?

Ben Agajanian was known as “The Toeless Wonder” because he only had four toes on his kicking foot after his foot was crushed in work accident.


5. Gary Anderson (July 16, 1959 – Present)

Oldest Age While Playing: 45 years, 5 months, 17 days on January 2, 2005
Years Active:  1982 – 2004 (23 seasons)
Team(s):  Pittsburgh Steelers (1982 – 1994); Philadelphia Eagles (1995 – 1996); San Francisco 49ers (1997); Minnesota Vikings (1998 – 2002); and Tennessee Titans (2003 – 2004)

Gary Andersonphoto source:  ESPN

Gary Anderson was a kicker for 23 seasons and spent most of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Anderson also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, the Minnesota Vikings, and ended his career with the Tennessee Titans.

During his career, Anderson set a few records, including third most field goals made (538) and third most points scored (2,434). In 2018, Anderson made the list of nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Today, Anderson is passionate about fly fishing and is a spokesman for the industry and has fly fishing company called “Perfect Season.”

Did You Know?

Gary Anderson is one of seven kickers to have perfect season (1998) with a 100% field goal percentage (35 out of 35 field goals). Anderson is the oldest player to hold this record and was 39 at the time.


4. John Carney (April 20, 1964 – Present)

Oldest Age While Playing: 46 years, 5 months, 20 days on October 10, 2010
Years Active:  1988 – 2010 (23 seasons)
Team(s):  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1988 – 1989); Los Angeles Rams (1990); San Diego Chargers (1990 – 2000); New Orleans Saints (2001 – 2006), (2009 – 2010); Jacksonville Jaguars (2007); Kansas City Chiefs (2007); and New York Giants (2008)

John Carneyphoto source:  nj.com

John Carney was in the NFL for 23 seasons and is best known for his time with the New Orleans Saints. Besides George Blanda (who is also on this list), Carney is one of only two players in NFL history to play across four different decades (1980s – 2010s).

Going in to the 2010 season, Carney was actually not signed, however, the Saints picked him back up after their starting kicker Garrett Hartley kept missing field goals. Carney only played for one game and was released once again by the Saints a week later and Carney left the NFL for good. Today, Carney is using his four-decade long experience to coach football camps and clinics for high school, college, and professional players.

Did You Know?

John Carney has many field goal records, including most games with 5 or more field goals in a career (11) and most games with 4 or more field goals in a career (29).


3. Adam Vinatieri (December 28, 1972 – Present)

Oldest Age While Playing: 46 years, 11 months, 4 days on December 1, 2019
Years Active:  1996 – Present (24 seasons)
Team(s): :  New England Patriots (1996 – 2005); and Indianapolis Colts (2006 – Present)

Adam Vinatieriphoto source:  Wikimedia Commons via Keith Allison

Adam Vinatieri is currently not only the oldest kicker still playing right now, he is also the oldest active NFL player period. Over his two-decade long career, Vinatieri spent his first 10 years with the New England Patriots and has been with the Indianapolis Colts since 2006.

Vinatieri extended his contract with the Colts for one more year (2019 season), which has solidified his record as one of the oldest kickers/players in NFL history. Although he was injured during the 2019 season, Vinatieri has yet to be cut from the Colts. As of the time of this writing, Vinatieri is still listed as active on the Colts’ roster.

In addition to his longevity, Vinatieri has set many kicking records and is considered one of the greatest kickers of all time.

Did You Know?

Adam Vinatieri ended the 2018 season by surpassing a few of his own NFL records, including most points scored (currently at 2,598) and most field goals made (currently at 582) – with Vinatieri set to play for another season, he is sure to once again remain on top.


2. Morten Andersen (August 19, 1960 – Present)

Oldest Age While Playing: 47 years, 4 months, 11 days on December 30, 2007
Years Active:  1982 – 2004; and 2006 – 2007 (25 seasons)
Team(s): :  New Orleans Saints (1982 – 1994); Atlanta Falcons (1995 – 2000), (2006 – 2007); New York Giants (2001); Kansas City Chiefs (2002 – 2003); and Minnesota Vikings (2004)

Morten Andersenphoto source:  Flickr via Keith Allison

Morten Andersen is the oldest exclusive kicker in NFL history and retired from the sport when he was 47 years old. Andersen is originally from Copenhagen, Denmark and came to the United States in high school as a foreign exchange student. On a whim, Andersen tried out for the school’s football team because they didn’t have soccer and he ended up falling in love with the sport.

Fast forward a few years, and Andersen stayed in the United States for college to play football for Michigan State University. After graduating, Andersen was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 1982 and went on to have a 25-year long career. With such a long career, Andersen set many NFL records, including most field goal attempts (709) and most game-winning field goals (103).

Did You Know?

Morten Andersen is only the second exclusive kicker inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the first since Jan Stenerud in 1991 – Andersen was inducted in 2017.


1. George Blanda (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010)

Oldest Age While Playing: 48 years, 3 months, 18 days on January 4, 1976
Years Active:  1949 – 1975 (26 seasons)
Team(s): :  Chicago Bears (1949), (1950 – 1958); Baltimore Colts (1950); Houston Oilers (1960 – 1966); and Oakland Raiders (1967 – 1975)

George Blandaphoto source:  Wikimedia Commons via Bowman

George Blanda dominates NFL history, holding some of the longest lasting records in the sport. While Blanda was better known for being a quarterback, he was also a kicker. Blanda retired when he was 48 years old (just a month shy of his 49th birthday), making him the oldest kicker in NFL history as well as the oldest quarterback and the oldest football player ever.

Blanda began his NFL career in 1949 with the Chicago Bears and played for 26 seasons, which is the most of any football player. Some of Blanda’s other records include, most games ever played (340), most consecutive games played (224), and most points scored (2,002). In total, Blanda is the first or tied for first for 19 records; is second or tied for second for five records; and is third or tied for third for four records – this amounts to 28 NFL records overall for Blanda.

Did You Know?

George Blanda is one of only 20 players to have played in all 10 seasons of the American Football League (AFL) before it merged with the NFL in 1970. Additionally, Blanda was one of only three players who appeared in every AFL game their team played.

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