The Facts: Fabulous of foot, clutch in all weathers, Vinatieri has concluded a storied career cluttered with Super Bowl championships, game-winning makes and more points than any other man to don a pair of shoulder pads after more than two decades. In the aftermath of a 2019 campaign marked by uncharacteristic struggles and a lingering injury, Vinatieri didn't play in 2020 and has now announced he plans to retire. "Put it this way, hey let me see, today's, what Wednesday, by Friday, if paperwork goes in, you heard it hear first," Vinatieri, who would be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025, said Wednesday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
Diehards Line:
As Vinatieri, to many the greatest kicker of all-time, retires after more than two decades of NFL chronicle, he does so as the only kicker having converted 250-plus field goals with multiple franchises (336 with the Colts; 263 with the Patriots). Calling it a career at 48, Vinatieri played roughly half his days (24 seasons) in the NFL. Along the way, he kicked and converted and clutched up during a glorious career that included four Super Bowl championships -- three with the Patriots and one with the Colts, as he shared locker rooms with all-time great quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Now, the best foot, perhaps in the history of the game, is moving forward and moving on.