Morten Andersen Career Scoring Leader

Lore & Background

Andersen was born in Copenhagen and raised in Struer, Denmark. He visited the U.S. as an exchange student in 1977, first kicked an American football at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, and earned a scholarship to Michigan State University. He set a Big Ten record with a 63-yard field goal against Ohio State. In 1991, while with the Saints, he kicked a 60-yard field goal against Chicago, tying Steve Cox for the second-longest in NFL history at the time (behind Tom Dempsey's 63-yard record). In 1995 with the Falcons, he became the first player to kick three field goals of over 50 yards in a single game. He missed a 30-yard field goal in week 17 of 1996 that enabled the Jaguars to make the playoffs, but kicked a game-winning overtime field goal in the 1998 NFC Championship Game to send the Falcons to Super Bowl XXXIII.

Reader's Guide

Andersen's career spanned 1982–2007. He played for the Saints (1982–1994), Falcons (1995–2000), Giants (2001), Chiefs (2002–2003), Vikings (2004), and Falcons again (2006–2007). He was released by the Saints after 1994 due to salary cap and declining accuracy. He re-signed with the Falcons in 2006 to help Michael Koenen, who had been handling both punting and kicking. In 2007, he signed again with the Falcons and made 25 of 28 field goals (89.3%), the most accurate season of his career. He retired on 8 December 2008.

Did You Know?

• He is one of only three exclusive kickers inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, along with Jan Stenerud and Adam Vinatieri.
• Andersen passed Gary Anderson to become the NFL's all-time leading scorer on 16 December 2006, and the career leader in field goals made on 24 December 2006.
• He launched a weekly football podcast titled 'Great Dane Nation' in 2020.