Adam Vinatieri
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Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972 in Yankton, South Dakota) is an American football placekicker playing for the Indianapolis Colts. He is generally considered the best clutch kicker in the history of the NFL. He formerly played for the New England Patriots, playing in 4 Super Bowls and winning 3.
He is the second of four children. He has two familiar family ties. His great-great grandfather is Felix Vinatieri, who served as General George Armstrong Custer's bandmaster. He is also a third cousin to the famous daredevil, Evel Knievel. Adam attended Rapid City, South Dakota's Central High School, where he was a letterman in football, track, wrestling, and soccer.
Vinatieri was originally recruited to kick for Army and attended West Point for several weeks in 1991 before deciding to return home to South Dakota. He was a four-year letterman at South Dakota State University as a placekicker and punter. He finished up his college years of football as the school's all-time scoring leader with 185 career points scored. (His younger brother Beau was a place kicker at Black Hills State University before graduating in 2003.)
With his impressive professional resumé, many football analysts and purists believe that Vinatieri will eventually land in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a realm typically unfriendly to placekickers (only one pure placekicker, Jan Stenerud, is currently enshrined).
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Life after college
He spent the fall of 1995 training to compete professionally. He received a tryout for the World League of American Football, now known as NFL Europe, and earned a roster position with the Amsterdam Admirals as a placekicker and punter.
New England Patriots
In 1996 he was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent to be a place kicker. He played in New England for the first 10 years of his NFL career, during which he has played in four Super Bowls.
In the 2001 playoffs, during a blizzard against the Oakland Raiders in the final game at Foxboro Stadium, Vinatieri kicked a 45-yard field goal to tie the game 13-13 and send it into overtime. The Patriots then won the game on another field goal of 23 yards by Vinatieri. That 45-yard kick in driving snow is regarded as one of the greatest clutch plays (and greatest kicks) in NFL history.
In Super Bowl XXXVI he kicked a field goal on the final play to give the New England Patriots their first Super Bowl victory, a 20-17 win over the St. Louis Rams. Two years later, and in an almost identical situation, he kicked a 41-yard field goal with 4 seconds left in Super Bowl XXXVIII to boost the Patriots to another championship (after missing one field goal and having another attempt blocked in the first half). This time, the Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers, 32-29, making Vinatieri the first player ever to be the deciding factor in two Super Bowl games. (Vinatieri kept the balls used on both those kicks; this did not arouse controversy the way Doug Mientkiewicz's keeping the winning ball from the 2004 World Series did.)
Vinatieri led the NFL in scoring in 2004 with 141 points (31-for-33 on field goals, and a perfect 48-for-48 on points after touchdown or PATs). His best game of the season came against the St. Louis Rams, against whom he scored 16 points (4 field goals, 4 PATs), and threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Troy Brown on a fake field goal attempt (that pass gives him a career passer rating of 122.9).
To date, Vinatieri has kicked 19 game-winning field goals with less than one minute remaining (out of 20 attempts; his lone miss came in 1999), including those mentioned in the postseason. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, he had a career field goal percentage of 81.9 percent (263/321), fifth highest in NFL history. His career long is 57 yards.
In his time in New England, he was very active in his home town and state which includes helping Christian athletes, D.A.R.E., and the Governor's Highway Safety Bureau. He also is a spokesperson for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island's teen anti-smoking contest. His hobbies include hunting, riding motorcycles and golfing. He is married, and has several children.
After the 2005 season, the Patriots chose not to Franchise Tag Vinatieri as they had the year before, allowing him to become a free agent. He had visited with the Green Bay Packers, but left without a contract offer. On March 22, 2006, Vinatieri signed with the Indianapolis Colts. Vinatieri replaced Mike Vanderjagt who moved to the Dallas Cowboys. Vinatieri was signed to a five year contract and received a 3.5 million dollar signing bonus.