Who Has the Longest Field Goal in NFL History?

The longest field goal in NFL history was kicked by Matt Prater of the Denver Broncos on December 8, 2013. It was 64 yards.

Morten Andersen

Morten Andersen (born August 19, 1960), nicknamed “The Great Dane,” is a former American football kicker who played 25 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is the league’s all-time leading scorer, with 2,544 points scored. He played for six different teams during his career, but he spent most of his time with the New Orleans Saints.

Andersen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and grew up in Clinton, South Carolina. He played college football for Michigan State University from 1978 to 1981. While at Michigan State, he set several kicking records and was named an All-American in 1981. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

Andersen was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 1982 NFL Draft. He was named to the Pro Bowl four times and was selected as a first-team All-Pro three times during his stint with the Saints. In 1986, he set an NFL record with a 62-yard field goal. He also set an NFL record with five field goals of 50 yards or more in a single season in 1987.

Andersen later played for the Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, and Minnesota Vikings before returning to the Falcons for a second stint from 2006 to 2007. He retired as the NFL’s all-time leading scorer in 2007. His career long field goal of 63 yards came on December 8, 1991 while playing for the Falcons against the Cincinnati Bengals; it remained tied for longest field goal until 2018 when Matt Prater broke it with a 64 yard kick.

Jason Elam

Jason Elam of the Denver Broncos currently holds the record for the longest field goal in NFL history, with a 63-yarder against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1998.

Sebastian Janikowski

Punters and kickers have been a part of football since the early days of the sport, but it wasn’t until 1937 that the first NFL player attempted a field goal from longer than 50 yards out. Since then, there have been many kickers who have made a name for themselves by nailing long-distance field goals. In fact, the record for the longest field goal in NFL history is held by Sebastian Janikowski, who kicked a 63-yarder for the Oakland Raiders in 2011.

There have been other players who have come close to breaking Janikowski’s record, including Matt Prater (64 yards), David Akers (63 yards), Jason Elam (63 yards), and Steve Buehler (62 yards). However, each of these kickers has come up just short of Janikowski’s mark.

So, who else is in the running for the longest field goal in NFL history? Here are some of the kickers who have made an impact with their long-distance kicking abilities:

-Morten Andersen: The Danish kicker played 25 seasons in the NFL and is currently the league’s all-time leading scorer. He made 565 field goals during his career, including 59 from 40 yards or longer. Andersen’s longest field goal was a 60-yarder that he made for the New Orleans Saints in 1995.

-Gary Anderson: The veteran kicker played 23 seasons in the NFL and was named to four Pro Bowls during his career. He made 538 field goals during his time in the league, including 58 from 40 yards or longer. Anderson’s longest field goal was a 58-yarder that he made for the Minnesota Vikings in 1998.

-Matt Bryant: The veteran kicker is currently playing for the Atlanta Falcons and has been one of the league’s most accurate kickers over the past few years. He has made 501 career field goals, including 58 from 40 yards or longer. Bryant’s longest field goal was a 62-yarder that he made for the Falcons in 2012.

David Akers

San Francisco 49ers kicker David Akers holds the record for the longest field goal in NFL history. In 2012, he kicked a 63-yard field goal against the Green Bay Packers. It was the fifth-longest field goal in NFL history at the time, and it remains the longest field goal ever kicked in Candlestick Park history.

Greg Zuerlein

Gregory Joseph Zuerlein (born December 27, 1987), nicknamed “Greg the Leg” and “Young GZ”, is an American football placekicker for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Rams in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at Nebraska-Omaha.

Zuerlein holds the NFL rookie scoring record with 158 points in 2012. He also has the third highest single-season scoring total for any Rams player with 161 points in 2014 and 2017. On December 2, 2018, he set an NFL record for longest field goal made with a 63-yard kick against the Green Bay Packers, a record that lasted less than two months before being eclipsed by Matt Prater on December 16.