Highest Points Scorers in NFL History

At an end of season awards ceremony, being the top points scorer is always the sought-after award to keep an eye on. This article will be looking at the all-time NFL points scorers in history, and how these legendary NFL stars managed to cement themselves to this day as some of the all-time greats.

A career which saw him play for eight different teams over 302 career appearance, John Carney scored an impressive 2062 points over 22 years in the NFL. The kicker came from Notre Dame college and was undrafted initially, so to make it into the top five points scorers was quite the scalp. Towards the end of his career, Carney converted 35-of-38 field goal attempts (92.1%) for the New York Giants, with a career-best season in 2008 with 143 points scored.

Placekicker Jason Hanson spent his entire 21-year NFL career with the Detroit Lions and racked up 2150 points during his career. Out of 601 field goal attempts, Hanson converted 495 at a solid 82.4% conversion rate, with his longest field goal being from 56 yards. His illustrious career saw him play in 327 games, but it wasn’t until his final season that he made his career-bets points tally with 134, not bad over his 22-year career.

Another placekicker who spent 23-years in NFL with six different sides scoring a total of 2434 NFL career points. The South African scored 538 field goals and 820 extra points during his playing days, with his highest scoring season in 1998; with a total of 164 points. In 14 of his 22 seasons, he secured more than 100 points which highlights the high levels of consistency. Additionally, Anderson holds the record for most consecutive field goals for both regular season and post season combined, converting 46 attempts in a row.

Just missing out on top spot for the all-time NFL points scorers is placekicker Morten Anderson. His 382-game career saw him score a total of 2544 points, with 565 field goals and 849 extra points. Anderson also hold the record for most consecutive games scoring at 360, which is remarkable and shows his longevity during a 25-year career. His highest scoring season came in 1995 for the Atlanta Falcons, scoring 122 points in 16 games in what was his first season for the team. He also set a then-NFL record for most 50-yard field goals in a season with 8.

Hitting top of the charts for being the highest points scorer in NFL history is kicker Adam Vinatieri. The South Dakotan born player scored 2673 points over a 23-year career where he played for the New England Patriots (1996-2005) and the Indianapolis Colts (2006-2019). Vinatieri earned individual accolades during his successful NFL career, with 21-seasons scoring over 100 points, with his highest scoring season being 141 points in 2004 for the Patriots. He scored 599 career field goals with the longest field goal being from 57 yards. Vinatieri also boasts the career points in a postseason schedule, bagging 238 points.