Harrison Butker has established himself as one of the NFL’s top kickers over the course of his now seven-year professional career. Butker has made his fair share of clutch kicks to help fuel the Kansas City Chiefs‘ historic success in recent years, with two Super Bowl wins and now a fourth appearance in the big game over the last five seasons.
Harrison Butker’s Background, NFL Exploits
Butker grew up in Decatur, Georgia, and attended Westminster High School in Atlanta. He stayed close to home for college, playing at Georgia Tech from 2013-2016, becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer after converting 208 of 210 point-after tries and 43 of 60 field goal attempts.
Those exploits helped him break into the professional ranks, meriting a selection in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. However, Carolina eventually waived him before signing him to the practice squad.
The Chiefs then signed Butker off the Panthers’ practice squad to replace the injured Cairo Santos, and the rest is history.
He made his NFL debut in Week 4 of the 2017 season against the Washington Commanders, missing his first career field goal attempt from 46 yards out before making the next three in the game, including a 43-yarder with four seconds remaining that effectively won the game.
It’s a performance that set the stage for Butker’s successful NFL career. He has since made more than 89% of his career field goal attempts in the regular season at 197 of 221, along with making 309 of 327 (94.5%) point-after tries.
Butker made a career-long 62-yard field goal during a 2022 regular-season game against the Buffalo Bills.
He has been plenty strong in the playoffs, too, making 28 of 32 field goal attempts and 61 of 64 point-after tries in 18 appearances. A few of those kicks have held a bit more pressure than the rest, however.
Butker made a game-tying field goal as time expired on regulation in the Chiefs’ 2022 playoff meeting with the Bills, which they ultimately won 42-36 in overtime.
He also made a game-winning 45-yard field goal as time expired in a 23-20 AFC Championship Game win over the Cincinnati Bengals and hit the winning field goal with eight seconds left in the 38-35 Super Bowl 57 win over the Philadelphia Eagles last season.
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Butker may be called upon to deliver some more heroics in Super Bowl 58 as well, with the Chiefs squaring off against the San Francisco 49ers. If history is any indication, few other NFL kickers are as prepared to deliver in the biggest moments as him.
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