David Roy Akers is an American former professional football player who was a kicker in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He began his career in 1998 with the Washington Redskins, after not making the main roster of the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers. The following year, he signed with the Eagles, where he spent 12 seasons. Akers was also a member of the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions before retiring in 2013.
Nicholas Ryan Novak is an American former professional football placekicker. He played college football at Maryland and was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2005.
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ball must pass through the vertical plane of the goal, which is the area above the crossbar and between the uprights or, if above the uprights, between their outside edges. American football requires that a field goal must only come during a play from scrimmage while Canadian football retains open field kicks and thus field goals may be scored at any time from anywhere on the field and by any player. The vast majority of field goals, in both codes, are placekicked. Drop-kicked field goals were common in the early days of gridiron football but are almost never attempted in modern times. A field goal may also be scored through a fair catch kick, but this is also extremely rare. In most leagues, a successful field goal awards three points.
Matthew Phillip Prater is an American professional football placekicker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Regarded as one of the best long distance kickers in NFL history, he held the NFL record for longest field goal from 2013 until 2021 and holds the NFL record for most 50+ yard field goals in a career, 81 as of 2024.
Justin Charles Medlock is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, earning consensus All-American honors in 2006. The Kansas City Chiefs selected him in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft. Medlock also played in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers, as well as the Toronto Argonauts, Edmonton Eskimos, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL.
In the sports of American football or Canadian football, the act of icing the kicker or freezing the kicker is the act of calling a timeout immediately prior to the snap in order to disrupt the process of kicking a field goal. The intent is to throw the kicker off of their routine and force them to feel pressure for a longer amount of time. The tactic is used at the collegiate and professional levels, although its effectiveness has not been proven.
The 2008 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 79th season in the National Football League (NFL), and their 75th as the Detroit Lions. The Lions made history by becoming the first team since the schedule was expanded to 16 games to finish winless. It is one of only four winless seasons since the merger.
Stephen Theodore Hauschka is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Middlebury College and North Carolina State.
Graham Clark Gano is a Scottish and American professional football placekicker for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2009. Gano has also played for the Las Vegas Locomotives in the United Football League (UFL), the Washington Redskins and the Carolina Panthers. During his time with the Panthers, he achieved the franchise's record for longest field goal at 63 yards in 2018.
Field goal range is the part of the field in American football where there is a good chance that a field goal attempt will be successful.
Randy Bullock is an American professional football placekicker. He played college football at Texas A&M, and was recognized as the nation's best college football kicker and a consensus All-American. He was selected by the Houston Texans in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL draft, after winning college football's Lou Groza Award.
Holden Fortunato "Zane" Gonzalez is an American professional football kicker for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona State University and was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL draft. Gonzalez ended his college career with the NCAA Division I career record for field goals made. While the career record is now held by Christopher Dunn of NC State, Dunn had the benefit of a fifth college season due to COVID-19 disruptions. He was a unanimous All-American in 2016. He was awarded the Lou Groza Award in 2016.
Ryan Santoso is an American professional football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at Minnesota. He has been a member of the Detroit Lions, Montreal Alouettes, Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars, and San Antonio Brahmas.
Greg Joseph is a South African–American professional football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida Atlantic, and signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2018. Later that year, Joseph made his NFL debut with the Cleveland Browns. He has also been a member of the Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, and Green Bay Packers.
Don Hageman III is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at San Diego State.
Matthew Wright is an American professional football placekicker. Wright is known for breaking the Jacksonville Jaguars' 20-game losing streak, when he scored two fourth quarter field goals, including a game-winning 53 yarder in an NFL International Series game against the Miami Dolphins in London. Wright played college football at UCF where he was a member of the undefeated 2017 team that was selected as National Champions by the Colley Matrix.
Matt Ammendola is an American professional football placekicker. He played college football at Oklahoma State. After college, he signed with the Carolina Panthers, but later signed and played for the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Arizona Cardinals, and Houston Texans after going undrafted in the 2020 NFL draft.
Dominik Eberle is an American football placekicker for the Berlin Thunder of the European League of Football (ELF). He played college football for the Utah State Aggies. He made his NFL debut in Week 16 of the 2021 NFL season.
John Parker Romo is an American professional football placekicker for the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at Central Arkansas, Tulsa, and Virginia Tech. He has also played for the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL, where he was selected to the All-XFL team following the 2023 XFL season. He is also the all time leader of field goals in the XFL.
The 2024 UFL season was the first season of the United Football League, which was created following the merger of the XFL and USFL, and the fifth season in the combined history of the two leagues, following the 2020 XFL season, 2022 USFL season, and separate 2023 seasons for both the USFL and XFL.
