NFL Kicker Job Description

An NFL Kicker is the placekicking specialist on a pro football roster. He handles field goals, extra-point tries and kickoffs, and on a given Sunday he might be on the field for only a handful of snaps, each of which can put points on the board or take them away. The rest of the week is spent making sure those snaps look identical no matter the weather, the hash mark or the crowd.

The field goal unit. Every field goal and try is a three-man operation. The long snapper fires the ball back, the holder catches it, spins the laces away and sets it down, and the kicker starts his approach on a timing count the three of them rehearse together in practice. The rulebook bars any artificial or manufactured tee on a try kick, so the hold is the only platform the kicker gets. When one part of the operation is off by a fraction of a second, the kick can be lost before the foot ever meets the ball, so specialists practice together as a unit.

Kickoffs under the current rules. The kickoff changed shape in 2024. The 2025 Official Playing Rules made permanent the new form of kickoff play implemented in 2024, the so-called dynamic kickoff, which restricts movement to reduce space and speed between the kicking and return teams and uses a defined landing zone short of the goal line. Ball placement now carries real consequences. A kickoff into the end zone that stays inbounds is live and must be returned or downed. A kick that lands at or beyond the goal line and is downed there puts the receiving team at its 35-yard line, while one that first touches the ground in the landing zone and is downed in the end zone comes out to the 20. A kick that lands short of the landing zone is treated like a kickoff out of bounds. Under these rules, where the ball lands decides where the drive starts, not just how far it travels.

Situational kicking. The job also includes onside kicks, squib kicks, sky kicks and directional placement, chosen by the special teams coordinator based on the opponent's return unit, the score and the clock. Late in a half, the kicker has to be ready to come off the bench cold for a long field goal with seconds left.

The weekly routine. A typical game week mixes special teams meetings, film review of the previous game and the upcoming opponent, field goal and kickoff periods in practice, and strength and mobility work aimed at the hips, core and plant leg. Kickers chart their own reps, track miss patterns by hash and distance, and rehearse pregame warmups that let them check wind and footing at each stadium.

Beyond the kick. He is also the last line of coverage on returns, so tackling form and pursuit angles get some practice time, and he works closely with the holder and snapper on fakes and emergency procedures.

There is no degree, license or certificate that makes someone an NFL kicker. The only credential that matters is proof, on film and in workouts, that a player can make kicks at game speed. That said, the usual path runs through high school and college football, where a specialist builds a body of game film, a record of makes and misses by distance, and relationships with coaches who can vouch for his composure.

Not every kicker follows the college path. Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey is a reminder that the route can bend. He was a soccer player who became a first-round MLS draft pick in 2017, and he did not pursue a football career until 2019, after he was released by a second-division USL soccer club, according to a Field Level Media report. He went on to earn first-team All-Pro honors as a 2023 rookie. A soccer background can give a player hip mechanics and ball-striking feel, but the transition still demands learning the timing of a snap-and-hold operation and the very different shape of a football.

Getting evaluated. Scouts and special teams coaches look at range, accuracy by distance and hash, kickoff hang time and placement, and how a kicker responds after a miss. Private workouts, college pro days, rookie minicamps and in-season tryouts are where that evaluation happens. Releases and injuries during the season can open a roster spot overnight, so unsigned kickers keep training and stay ready for a phone call.

Physical preparation. As a rough guide, kickers who stick in the league treat training as a year-round job. That means hip flexor and groin conditioning, core and glute strength, plant-leg stability, and enough mobility to repeat the same swing again and again through a practice week without breaking down. Some work with a personal kicking coach in the offseason in addition to the team's special teams staff.

Technical skills to master:

• A repeatable approach, typically a set number of steps from a marked starting point
• Plant-foot placement and hip rotation that hold up on wet grass, frozen turf and in crosswinds
• Kickoff trajectory control to hit the landing zone with hang time
• Onside and squib technique on demand
• Communication with the holder and snapper on timing, laces and ball position

Mental skills. Composure is a job requirement, not a bonus. Kickers build pre-kick routines, practice under simulated pressure and learn to reset after a miss in time for the next attempt. Some teams provide mental performance staff; some kickers hire their own.

Business side. Once signed, a kicker works under the NFL-NFLPA collective bargaining agreement and may hire an agent to negotiate contract terms. Understanding how credited seasons, guarantees and roster bonuses work is part of managing a career that can end with a single release.

Top kicker pay set records in 2026. In April, Dallas gave Brandon Aubrey a four-year, $28 million extension that made him the first kicker to earn $7 million per season, with $20 million guaranteed, another record for the position, according to Field Level Media. Pittsburgh's Chris Boswell signed in May 2026 and sits atop ESPN's September 8, 2026 pay tracker with a $7.4 million three-year average. Houston's Ka'imi Fairbairn and Kansas City's Harrison Butker tie for third in the same tracker at $6.5 million.

Long-range records. Aubrey holds the NFL record with six career field goals of 60 or more yards, the Field Level Media report noted. In Tampa Bay, Chase McLaughlin set an NFL record in December 2025 with 11 consecutive successful field goal attempts from 50 yards and beyond in a single season, and the Buccaneers described him as the most accurate kicker in NFL history from 50-plus yards among players with at least 25 attempts in that range.

The kickoff, by the numbers. In the first five weeks of the 2025 season, touchbacks fell to 15.8% of dynamic kickoffs, compared with 68.1% over the same stretch in 2024, NFL Football Operations reported, and 81.3% of dynamic kickoffs in that span were returned. In that span, most kickoffs ended with a return the coverage unit had to stop, and the kicker's hang time and placement inside the landing zone shape how far a return can go.

Rules keep moving. At the 2026 annual league meeting in Phoenix, clubs adopted a Competition Committee proposal to eliminate the kicking team's incentive to intentionally kick the ball out of bounds when kicking off from the 50-yard line, along with changes to receiving team alignment in the setup zone.

The broader occupation. ONET projects faster than average growth, 5% to 6% for 2025-2035, for its Athletes and Sports Competitors occupation, whose sample job titles include baseball pitcher, golf professional and hockey player, with about 2,200 openings a year on average and 22,900 employees in 2025. Those figures describe the whole occupation, not NFL kickers, and BLS and ONET do not report kickers separately.

Realistic expectations. There are few NFL kicking jobs, and a club can bring in competition at any time. A kicker who earns a multiyear contract still has to keep producing, because a slump can lead to a release. A released kicker can keep training on his own, take tryouts with other clubs and stay ready for an in-season call when an injury or a cold streak opens a job elsewhere. For players who do not stick, the skills transfer to coaching, private instruction, other professional leagues or careers far from football. Planning for that second act while still kicking is the smart move.

Dear Special Teams Coordinator,

I am writing to request a workout as an NFL Kicker with your club. I finished my college eligibility at Lakeview State this fall and have been training full time since our final game, with my long snapper and holder from school joining me twice a week so we can keep our operation sharp.

Over my last two seasons I handled field goals, extra points and kickoffs, and I took pride in making every rep look the same. I chart every kick I take in practice by distance, hash and wind, and I review my misses with my kicking coach each week. That process helped me tighten a left-hash tendency that had cost me kicks as a sophomore, and my senior film shows a much more consistent ball flight from that side.

On kickoffs, I focused on placement and hang time rather than pure distance. Our coordinator asked me to hit specific areas of the landing zone depending on the return unit we faced, and I learned to adjust my trajectory without changing my approach. I am also comfortable with onside, squib and sky kicks, and I tackle when I have to.

I know a roster spot is earned over a long stretch, not a single good day. I am prepared to compete in any setting, from a short tryout to a camp invitation, and I will keep training through the season in case an opening comes up. I would welcome the chance to kick for your staff, in any weather, at your facility or wherever is most convenient.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely, Jordan Ellis