Adam Vinatieri Talks Bill Belichick, Gronk, And How He Became NFL’s All-Time Scoring Leader

South Dakota native Adam Vinatieri says he never thought that making it in the NFL would be a guarantee, much less that he would become the NFL’s all-time leading scorer.

“I was a South Dakota kid, dreaming of playing in the NFL, like probably every kid who has ever put on a football helmet,” Vinatieri, 50, said. “Being a small-town kid from a state that doesn’t have a lot of people, I always hoped I’d make it there, perhaps naively.”

After high school, Vinatieri went to South Dakota State, an upper Great Plains college with a deep football tradition that is now the 2022 NCAA Division I-AA Football Champions.

South Dakota State, Vinatieri said, provided a great program and toughened him up. And after college, he spent the summer after his graduation in 1996, training with the hopes of competing professionally.

It was during that time that Vinatieri was offered a tryout for the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe), earning a roster position as the Amsterdam Admirals’ place kicker and punter. After taking that first opportunity, Vinatieri thinks his foray into the NFL came from his drive.

“There’s nothing that compares to hard work. Playing halfway around the world with the Amsterdam Admirals, (I was) chasing my dream. Then when you get the opportunity to (in the NFL), you have to shine when you get it.”

And shine, he did. Vinatieri played 24 full seasons in the NFL, which is remarkable even for a kicker.

During that time, he was a four-time Super Bowl champion—playing Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX with New England, and Super Bowl XLI with the Indianapolis Colts. Over his career, he scored 599 field goals and a total of 2,673 points. Vinatieri’s 365 games played are the second most by an NFL player all-time, behind Danish kicker Morten Andersen, who played 382 games.

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Vinatieri officially announced his retirement on the podcast of former Colts teammate and punter Pat McAfee, The Pat McAfee Show, in May 2021.

Now with Super Bowl LVII set for Feb. 12, Vinatieri is now tasked with helping another former teammate hone his kicking craft. (And no, it’s not McAfee.) Instead, Vinatieri will be guiding his old friend Rob Gronkowski on how to kick a field goal.

As a part of FanDuel’s upcoming Super Bowl campaign, Gronkowski will attempt a field goal kick during Super Bowl LVII. The promotion is called the FanDuel “Kick of Destiny” and the five-time NFL Pro-Bowler and former NFL tight end will attempt to kick to make it during a television commercial break.

Gronkowski will make his attempt in the third quarter from the 25 yard line.

Vinatieri said that in preparation for Gronk’s big moment, he has been available to help train him both physically and mentally for this kick.

“It’s not an easy kick to make. “Gronk is a big strong guy, but his role has been catching and running the ball, and using his size.”

Last week, Gronkowski spoke about the upcoming feat, echoing Vinatieri’s sentiments and accepting the challenge.

“I spent my career catching the ball, but I always knew I could kick it—and now I’ll do it live in front of football fans everywhere during the Super Bowl,” said the 6 foot 6 NFL legend Gronkowski.

In attempting to kick his field goal, Gronkowski aims to win fans their share of $10 million in free FanDuel bets. Fans at the Super Bowl will get the chance to take photos with the “The Foot of Destiny” and a replica of Gronkowski’s foot that will be signed by him and auctioned off after the game. Fans who are 21 and over can take their own shot at the “Kick of Destiny” on-site at the Super Bowl Experience with the chance to win $25 at the FanDuel SportsBook at the Footprint Center.

Boston commoner

While Vinatieri played the second half of his career and a good 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts (2006-2019), and winning Super Bowl XLI his first season there, many of the NFL’s biggest diehard will always remember him as a vital member of the New England Patriots.

While Vinatieri played the second half of his career and a good 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts (2006-2019), and winning Super Bowl XLI his first season there, many of the NFL’s biggest diehards will always remember him as a vital member of the New England Patriots.

Vinatieri played 19 seasons (1996-2005) in Boston with the likes of Gronkowski, Tom Brady, Wes Welker, and other greats, also winning three Super Bowls there under coach Bill Belichick.

When asked what it’s like to play in such a sports-crazy town, Vinatieri called the experience “special.”

“New England fans are a different breed. When everything’s great, they are the best fans out there. And when they’re going through tough times, they are going to let you know that too. Because they’re passionate.”

But the Pats were not always the powerhouse we think of them as, Vinatieri reminds us.

“When I first got there in 1996, we made it to the Super Bowl and lost to the Packers. But prior to that, people talked about how New England was bottom of the barrel. But that changed over a generation.”

Vinatieri added that the Patriots went from being “a mediocre team” to being the “team to beat if you have any hope of getting a Super Bowl ring.” Leadership, he hints, was everything.

“I was blessed to be around coaches like Bill Parcels and Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll,” Vinatieri said. “I feel like I was coached by the best. It showed sports fans there what the potential was to come.”

But it wasn’t just Brady, Gronk, and the Patriots’ stellar receiver corps of stars like Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, and Randy Moss that got pats on the back from fans for all the wins. Even the kicker, he said, gets props.

“No matter where you go, you’re out at dinner, going to a movie or walking through a mall, the fans love their players, and they let you know it. It made Boston and the area a magical place,” Vinatieri said.

Kickers: underrated value?

“Punters, kickers, and specialists—we have a different type of job,” Vinatieri said during a call last Friday. He added that he sees the kicker’s role as similar to one very important position in baseball. “I always relate the kicker’s role to that of a closing pitcher. Most of the game, they are sitting on the bench until it’s time to come in and get three guys out.”

“As a kicker, I’m on the bench waiting, and out of a 60-minute game, I might be on the field 45 seconds. Each of our plays is four, five, or six seconds long. But the impact you can have is tremendous.”

He adds that the pick of the litter had also changed from when he was going up watching NFL games in the late 1970s and 1980s.

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“It’s no longer the scenario where you’ve got a soccer player or European born and bred kicker coming over, like (NFL kicking legend) Garo Yepremian. Now (kickers) get into superior shape to try to be able to maximize everything they have. Guys have gotten a lot better.”

Vinatieri also points out that in the 1960s, it wasn’t unusual for a kicker “to hit just over 60%. Now, if you’re a kicker not hitting about 85%, you’re looking for a job.”

Vinatieri’s point is, to say the least, a timely one. In the NFL’s Wild Card Round so far, two games were won by a scoreline of three points or less. Saturday, the Jacksonville Jaguars edged the Los Angeles Chargers 31-30, and on Sunday, the Buffalo Bills beat the Miami Dolphins 34-31.

And just before the New Year, Ohio State crashed out of the BCS Playoffs and their shot at the NCAA title after a last-minute missed field goal attempt in the Peach Bowl versus Georgia, who won the game 42-41 and went on to win the BCS National Championship.

“Kicking’s important, and I’m glad teams have figured that out,” Vinatieri said.

Read Frye’s interview with Patriots legend Tom Brady.

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