Former South Dakota State standout and the National Football League’s all-time scoring leader, Adam Vinatieri, was announced last week as a member of the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
Born in Yankton and raised in Rapid City, Vinatieri played at South Dakota State from 1991-94 and earned all-North Central Conference honors both as a kicker (1992) and punter (1992-94). He also was an NCAA Division II All-America selection as a punter by both CoSIDA and Football Gazette his senior season.Adam Vinatieri, widely regarded as the greatest kicker in NFL history, on Thursday was announced as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Modern Era Class of 2026.
Vinatieri will take his spot in Canton in his second year of Pro Football Hall of Fame eligibility. He’s only the third player to only play kicker to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame, joining Jan Stenerud and Morten Andersen.
“Adam Vinatieri is one of the most accomplished athletes football or any other sport has ever seen, and he is unequivocally the greatest kicker in NFL history,” Colts Owner & CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon said. “His iconic, game-winning kicks, his multitude of league records and his amazing longevity are legendary, and now, they have rightly earned him a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We send our congratulations to Adam and his family, and we can’t wait to join with Colts Nation in celebrating this phenomenal achievement.”
Over 24 seasons – 10 with the New England Patriots (1996-2005) and 14 with the Colts (2006-2019) – Vinatieri became the NFL’s all-time leading scorer with 2,673 points; no player in NFL history has made more regular season field goals than Vinatieri’s 599. He connected on an NFL-record 44 consecutive field goals between the 2015 and 2016 seasons with the Colts, and no player had more seasons with 100 or more points scored than Vinatieri (21).
Vinatieri’s legendary reputation was built not only on the volume of kicks he made, but in his consistent ability to deliver on some of the biggest kicks in NFL history. With the Patriots, Vinatieri famously connected on last-second game-winning field goals to clinch Super Bowl XXXVI and Super Bowl XXXVIII; in the 2006 playoffs, Vinatieri connected on 14 field goals to help push the Colts to earn their first Indianapolis-era Lombardi Trophy.
