The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 15 modern era finalists for the 2025 class last week, and former New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri was among the players who made the cut.
The final 2025 Hall of Fame class will be revealed on Feb. 6, 2025.
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There are only four kickers in the Hall of Fame -- Morten Andersen, George Blanda, Lou Groza and Jan Stenerud.
It's often difficult for special teams players to get into Canton, but Vinatieri is a class by himself. He made so many clutch kicks in the playoffs for both the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts over his 24-year career. He's also the NFL's all-time leader in field goals made.
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The Patriots won their first three Super Bowl titles by three points, including game-winning field goals by Vinatieri in the final minute to win Super Bowl XXXVI and XXXVIII. His game-tying field goal in the 2001 AFC Divisional Round versus the Raiders, also known as the "Snow Bowl" or "Tuck Rule Game", is arguably the greatest kick in NFL history given the harsh snowy conditions and distance (45 yards).
But former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick recently made a case for a different kick as Vinatieri's best.
"I thought, honestly, his best kick might have been in the Carolina game to win that one, just because of the rush," Belichick said Monday on ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show. "They had already blocked one (field goal), and that rush they had with Julius Peppers -- that whole defensive line, those guys were unblockable. They were all 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-6. That ball barely cleared the line, but he got it up and through. That was a tough kick. He's had so many clutch plays."
The kick Belichick is referring to is Vinatieri's game-winning field goal at the end of Super Bowl XXXVIII versus the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers' defensive line was incredible that season with Peppers, Kris Jenkins, Mike Rucker and others. This group blocked a Vinatieri field goal attempt in the first quarter.
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The list of 2025 finalists is pretty strong, and it includes Eli Manning, Reggie Wayne, Antonio Gates, Jared Allen, Luke Kuechly, Steve Smith Sr. and Torry Holt, among others.
Despite the tough competition, Vinatieri should still be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
"No-brainer, gotta be," Belichick said on McAfee's show when asked if Vinatieri should go in on the first ballot. "This guy made so many big kicks. And as great of a career as he had in New England, he had just as great of a career in Indianapolis."
