SAN FRANCISCO — Adam Vinatieri, who delivered so many clutch moments with the Patriots and Colts, has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it was announced Thursday.
Vinatieri, who did not get in last year in his initial year of eligibility, becomes the third exclusive kicker inducted into the Hall of Fame — joining Morten Andersen and Jan Stenerud — and the first selected since 2017.
He was joined on the stage by longtime Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, linebacker and Boston College product Luke Kuechly, quarterback Drew Brees, and 49ers running back Roger Craig (who was elected via the ballot that spurned both Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft).
An undrafted free agent out of South Dakota State, Vinatieri joined the Patriots in 1996 and spent 10 seasons in New England. He developed a reputation as one of the best kickers in the history of the game, burnishing his résumé by delivering winning field goals against the Raiders and Rams in the 2001 playoffs. His 48-yarder to beat St. Louis earned the Patriots their first Super Bowl title.
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Vinatieri won four Super Bowls, three with the Patriots and one with the Colts, before retiring after the 2019 season. A three-time All-Pro, he was named to the NFL’s 100th anniversary team in 2019. The NFL’s leading scorer with 2,673 points in the regular season and 238 in the playoffs, he is one of three kickers to make seven or more field goals in the Super Bowl.
It wasn’t an easy start for Vinatieri, who began his professional career with the Amsterdam Admirals of the World League of American Football. Signed by the Patriots, he had a rocky start, missing three field goal attempts in Week 2 of his first season. In that same game, he missed a pass off a fake field goal from the Bills’ 11-yard line when he couldn’t get open, and holder Tom Tupa instead threw an incompletion to tight end Ben Coates in the end zone.
Two weeks later, Vinatieri connected on 5 of 6 field goal attempts against the Jaguars. Later that season, he famously chased down Cowboys kickoff returner Herschel Walker. It was a play that caused then-Patriots coach Bill Parcells to say to Vinatieri, “You’re not a kicker. You’re a football player.”
Vinatieri continued to ascend, hitting a peak in 2001, when, after an excellent regular season, he starred in the playoffs. He kicked a 45-yarder against the Raiders to tie the divisional-round game late in regulation, and then booted a 23-yarder in the extra session to earn the upset. In Super Bowl XXXVI, his 48-yarder as time ran out to lifted the Patriots past the Rams. It was more of the same in the coming years, including another game-winner in Super Bowl XXXVIII against the Panthers.
After he left the Patriots following the 2005 season, Vinatieri kicked for another 14 years with the Colts, until the age of 47. He retired in 2021 as the only player to score at least 1,000 points for two franchises.
Christopher Price can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky at christopherprice.bsky.social.
