Adam Vinatieri should have been an easy Hall of Fame decision

The former Patriots kicker was one of 15 finalists this year.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame, just like the general public, has only been paying marginal attention to special teams through the years. The placekicker position is a good example of that: in its 62 years of existence, only two pure kickers have earned a gold jacket.

On Thursday, a third should have joined them — but he did not. Adam Vinatieri, a four-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts and possibly the greatest kicker of all time, found himself among 15 finalists in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility. He ended up not earning enough votes to make it in.

Instead, the Hall of Fame Class of 2025 consists of CB Eric Allen, DE Jared Allen, TE Antonio Gates, and WR Sterling Sharpe.

“I don’t know what the expectation should be, but I’m very optimistic,” Vinatieri said earlier this week.

His optimism was not warranted, despite him having a strong Hall of Fame-worthy résumé.

Why Adam Vinatieri should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Dynastic contributions: The Hall of Fame has a simple purpose: to honor and preserve the game’s history by recognizing the best and most influential player that have ever taken the field. Adam Vinatieri should be among them given his status as arguably not just the greatest and most recognizable, but also the most valuable kicker in league history.

That value manifests itself in his number of championship rings, but also through his contributions to kickstarting the Patriots’ two-decade dynasty. Without him kicking three overtime game winners in 2001, and the walk-off field goal in Super Bowl XXXVI, who knows what would New England’s unprecedented run of success would have looked like.

Standout moments: There may not be another kicker in NFL history with a highlight reel as jam-packed as Vinatieri’s. Those game winners mentioned above are a mere footnote compared to some of the other big plays he made.

His 24-year career in the NFL saw him make crucial kicks in the first three of the Patriots’ Super Bowls victories — including last-second winners in two of those — as well as a five-field goal performance in a 15-6 divisional round victory to pave the way for a Colts title. On top of those, he also made arguably the best kick in league history when he split the uprights in a snow storm from 45 yards away to send the Patriots’ 2001 divisional round game against Oakland to overtime.

Longevity: The average NFL career lasts only 3.3 years, according to research conducted in 2019. For kickers, that number is slightly higher — 4.9 — but still far below what Vinatieri was able to accomplish: an undrafted free agent in 1996, he remained in the league until 2019. His 24 total seasons in the league rank third all-time behind only George Blanda’s 26 and Morten Andersen’s 25.

Along the way, he appeared in a combined 365 regular season games and retired as the all-time leader in career field goals (599) as well as points (2,673). In addition, Vinatieri played 32 playoff games — i.e. an extra two seasons worth of postseason action at the time — and hit 56 field goals in the tournament, another all-time mark.

In addition to those numbers, Vinatieri also leads all NFL kickers with four Super Bowl rings (a record Kansas City’s Harrison Butker could tie on Sunday).

Competition: This has little to do with Vinatieri himself, but this year’s list of Hall of Fame finalists lacked the star power other classes have had. While that still prevented voters from considering some deserving players like ex-Patriots safety Rodney Harrison, it seemingly created a favorable situation for Vinatieri.

Besides him, quarterback Eli Manning, running back Fred Taylor, wide receivers Torry Holt, Steve Smith and Reggie Wayne, tight end Antonio Gates, offensive linemen Willie Anderson, Jahri Evans and Marshal Yanda, defensive ends Jared Allen and Terrell Suggs, linebacker Luke Kuechly, cornerback Eric Allen, and safety Darren Woodson were the other finalists. Four of them — Allen, Allen, Gates, Sharpe — earned the necessary 80 percent support.

This also means that 11 of the 15 finalists, including Vinatieri did not. One spot for enshrinement would still have been open, by the way.

Which kickers are in the Hall of Fame?

As noted above, only two exclusive placekickers to have found their way to Canton: Jan Stenerud in 1991, and the aforementioned Morten Andersen in 2017. Vinatieri would have become the third to join them, and is the most realistic candidate to receive the honor in the foreseeable future even with another ex-Patriot, Stephen Gostkowski, becoming Hall of Fame eligible in 2026.

In addition to those Stenerud and Andersen, nine other players have been enshrined who have served as kickers before the era of positional specialization. All of them primarily played other positions in addition to also kicking field goals and extra points for their respective teams: George Blanda, Lou Groza, Pete Henry, Paul Hornung, Don Hutson, Bobby Layne, Les Richter, Ken Strong, and Doak Walker.